The targeted drugs sunitinib (Sutent) and sorafenib (Nexavar) can delay the progression of kidney cancer by 3 to 6 months over existing treatments, according to the results of final-stage clinical trials in the January 11 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The results also show how a "rational" approach to developing cancer drugs can succeed over the long term. Sunitinib and sorafenib, the first new therapies for kidney cancer since the 1980s, inhibit the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) that feed tumors.  Read more  

This week we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although he is often remembered for his work in the area of social justice, he understood very clearly the significance of health equality. "Of all forms of inequity, injustice in health is the most inhumane," Dr. King once stated.

This Thursday, I will have the honor of introducing Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., as the keynote speaker at the NIH Commemorative Martin Luther King, Jr., Program. A noted cancer surgeon and the current chair of the President's Cancer Panel, Dr. Leffall has long been a leading voice on health disparities. He has lived the dream that Dr. King envisioned, making immense contributions to society based on the content of his character, not the color of his skin.  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.