(Posted: 11/27/2012) - science writers' seminar to discuss various aspects of one of NCI’s signature efforts -- the Provocative Questions project. Discussion will focus on the scientific research that surrounds some of these questions.

(Posted: 11/13/2012) - An international group of scientists has identified three genes that predispose Asian women who have never smoked to lung cancer. The discovery of specific genetic variations, which have not previously been associated with lung cancer risk in other populations, provides further evidence that risk of lung cancer among never-smokers, especially Asian women, may be associated with certain unique genetic characteristics that distinguishes it from lung cancer in smokers.

(Posted: 11/08/2012) - A new study found a significantly elevated risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia among workers who were engaged in recovery and clean-up activities following the Chernobyl power plant accident in 1986.

(Posted: 11/06/2012) - Leisure-time physical activity is associated with longer life expectancy, even at relatively low levels of activity and regardless of body weight, according to a study by a team of researchers led by the NCI. The study, which found that people who engaged in leisure-time physical activity had life expectancy gains of as much as 4.5 years, appeared Nov. 6, 2012, in PLoS Medicine.

(Posted: 11/01/2012) - NIH researchers have discovered a significant new mechanism of action for a class of chemotherapy drugs known as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, or PARP inhibitors. They have also identified differences in the toxic capabilities of three drugs in this class which are currently being tested in clinical trials. Prior to this study, PARP inhibitors were thought to work primarily by blocking PARP enzyme activity, thus preventing the repair of DNA damage and ultimately causing cell death.

(Posted: 10/09/2012) - A variation of the gene NFKB1, called rs4648127, is associated with an estimated 44 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. When this information, derived from samples obtained as part of a large NCI-sponsored prevention clinical trial, was compared with data on a different sample collection from NCI’s genome-wide association studies (GWAS), lung cancer risk was still estimated to be lower, but only by 21 percent.

(Posted: 10/05/2012) - Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes substantially to the epidemic of anal cancer in men, but not women in the United States, according to new research from NCI. Chart shows overall incidence rates of anal cancers in general population with dashed line showing those with HIV infection.

(Posted: 09/27/2012) - Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at NIH and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.

(Posted: 09/24/2012) - A new study from The Cancer Genome Atlas captured a complete view of genomic alterations in breast cancer and classified them into four intrinsic subtypes, one of which shares many genetic features with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Depicted are breast cancer cells with the HER2 protein, which can trigger cell growth responses, lit up in bright red. (Photo credit: NIST)

(Posted: 09/21/2012) - The barriers that impede greater and faster progress against cancer include the inherent biological properties of tumors; the difficulties of developing new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancers; and economic and social factors that slow the nation’s cancer research efforts