(Posted: 01/31/2011) - Results of an intermediate stage clinical trial of several dozen people provides evidence that a method that has worked for treating patients with metastatic melanoma can also work for patients with metastatic synovial cell sarcoma, one of the most common soft tissue tumors in adolescents and young adults.

(Posted: 01/27/2011) - Scientists have made an unanticipated discovery in mice that interferon-gamma, a type of protein primarily used by the immune system for intercellular communication, acts as a promoter for the deadly form of skin cancer known as melanoma.

(Posted: 12/23/2010) - The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has announced major changes to be made in the long-established Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program that conducts many of the nationwide trials of new cancer therapies.

(Posted: 12/22/2010) - Researchers have identified a mutation in a gene that could lead to targeted therapies for certain lymphoma patients whose cure rates are currently poor.

(Posted: 12/01/2010) - A study looking at deaths from any cause found that a body mass index between 20.0 and 24.9 is associated with the lowest risk of death in healthy non-smoking adults. Investigators also provided precise estimates of the increased risk of death among people who are overweight and obese. Previous studies that examined the risks from being overweight were inconclusive, with some reporting only modestly increased risks of death and others showing a reduced risk.  Also, the precise risks for different levels of obesity were uncertain.

(Posted: 11/21/2010) - NCI researchers have defined a possible molecular link between breast cancer risk and obesity. New study results show that a protein called C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) acts to control a gene linked to breast cancer risk in rapidly growing cells by monitoring and responding to how the cells use and store energy (metabolic state).

(Posted: 11/10/2010) - Researchers have discovered mutations in a particular gene that affects the treatment prognosis for some patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer that kills 9,000 Americans annually.

(Posted: 11/07/2010) - NCI scientists have linked p53, a protein that can suppress tumor formation and influence cellular aging, with TRF2, a protein that forms a complex that protects the ends of chromosomes from undergoing erosion.

(Posted: 11/04/2010, Updated: 06/29/2011) - On November 4, 2010, the NLST reported initial trial results, showing 20 percent fewer lung cancer deaths among trial participants screened with low-dose helical CT (also known as spiral CT) compared to those who got screened with chest X-rays.

(Posted: 11/04/2010) - The NCI has released initial results from a large-scale test of screening methods to reduce deaths from lung cancer by detecting cancers at relatively early stages. The National Lung Screening Trial, a randomized national trial involving more than 53,000 current and former heavy smokers ages 55 to 74, compared the effects of two screening procedures for lung cancer -- low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) and standard chest X-ray -- on lung cancer mortality and found 20 percent fewer lung cancer deaths among trial participants screened with low-dose helical CT.