Drug developers have long wondered whether p53, one of the most commonly mutated genes in cancer, would make a good target for cancer therapies. Three new studies in mice suggest that it might.

The gene normally helps suppress tumors, and many cancer patients are thought to acquire p53 mutations relatively early in the disease. It has not been known whether these mutations also contribute to cancer later on, once tumors have been established.  Read more  

Breast Premalignancy Research Bolstered by Database on Healthy Tissue

Developing a better understanding of the healthy breast is critical to our efforts to identify biomarkers and other diagnostic and therapeutic tools for use against early breast cancer. At last week's steering committee meeting of the NCI Breast Cancer Stamp Premalignancy Research Program, we heard about a new program that addresses the key issue of our limited understanding of the biology and normal developmental genetics of the mammary gland.

The "Friends for Life" project is an effort of the Indiana University (IU) Breast Program, the Catherine Peachey Fund, Inc., and the IU Cancer Center to create a collection of voluntarily donated breast tissue, blood, and macromolecules derived from blood and saliva of healthy donors. The undertaking is a collaboration among consumer advocates, clinicians, basic scientists, and volunteers. "Friends for Life" was created in response to a need articulated by scientists carrying out breast cancer research - in order to better understand what is abnormal in breast cancer, the breast's normal state needs to be more clearly defined.  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.