We will conduct and support basic, clinical, and population research to gain a more complete understanding of the genetic, epigenetic¹, environmental, behavioral, and sociocultural determinants of cancer and the biological mechanisms underlying cancer resistance, susceptibility, initiation, regression, progression, and recurrence.

Cancer is a complex set of diseases that must be understood from multiple perspectives. Research that improves our understanding of its causes and mechanisms - from assessing cancer risk to elucidating the process of metastasis - is essential to our ability to develop and apply interventions to preempt cancer initiation and progression. NCI's plan for deciphering the causes and mechanisms of cancer includes continued support of consortial studies in molecular epidemiology to assess complex risk factors, research on the tumor macroenvironment and microenvironment, research on the role of altered gene expression in cancer progression, and characterization of the roles of susceptibility genes in cancer risk and initiation. We will continue to foster a systems approach to cancer research, apply advanced technologies in diverse research settings, and elucidate the relationship between cancer and other diseases. We will continue to support both investigator-initiated research and large, directed interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs as a comprehensive strategy to unravel the components and complexities of multiple risk factors for cancer, understand specific types of cancer based on their molecular characteristics, and develop rationally designed interventions to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer and to predict patient response to therapy.

_{1. Pertaining to the approximately stepwise process by which genetic information, as modified by environmental influences, is translated into the substance and behavior of an organism.}

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