News & Events

Recent Press Releases

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  TCGA study of liver cancer reveals potential targets for therapy

  June 15, 2017

  Only two drugs are FDA-approved for liver cancer. This study of hepatocellular carcinoma found genetic alterations in tumors—including mutations in tumor-suppressing genes and high expression of immune checkpoint genes—that could be targets for drugs that already exist.

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  Study estimates number of U.S. women living with metastatic breast cancer

  May 18, 2017

  A new study shows that the number of women in the United States living with distant metastatic breast cancer (MBC), the most severe form of the disease, is growing. This is likely due to the aging of the U.S. population and improvements in treatment.

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  Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer death rates continue to decline

  March 31, 2017

  According to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2014, overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups. But more work remains for some cancers.

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  NCI launches study of African-American cancer survivors

  February 27, 2017

  The Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) study, which will include 5,560 cancer survivors, will look at the major factors affecting cancer progression, recurrence, mortality, and quality of life among African-American cancer survivors.

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  Study finds premature death rates diverge in the United States by race and ethnicity

  January 25, 2017

  Premature death rates declined among Hispanics, blacks, and Asian/Pacific Islanders due mainly to fewer deaths from cancer, heart disease, and HIV. Rising deaths from accidents, drug overdoses, suicide and liver disease increased rates among whites and American Indian/Alaska Natives.

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  TCGA study identifies genomic features of cervical cancer

  January 23, 2017

  Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have identified novel genomic and molecular characteristics of cervical cancer that will aid in subclassification of the disease and may help target therapies that are most appropriate for each patient.

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  New Drug Formulary Will Help Expedite Use of Agents in Clinical Trials

  January 11, 2017

  The National Cancer Institute (NCI) today launched a new drug formulary (the “NCI Formulary”) that will enable investigators at NCI-designated Cancer Centers to have quicker access to approved and investigational agents for use in preclinical studies and cancer clinical trials. The NCI Formulary could ultimately translate into speeding the availability of more-effective treatment options to patients with cancer.

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  Early-phase trial demonstrates shrinkage in pediatric neural tumors

  December 28, 2016

  In an early-phase clinical trial of a new oral drug, selumetinib, children with the common genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and plexiform neurofibromas, tumors of the peripheral nerves, tolerated selumetinib and, in most cases, responded to it with tumor shrinkage.

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  Cellular Immunotherapy Targets a Common Human Cancer Mutation

  December 7, 2016

  In a study of an immune therapy for colorectal cancer that involved a single patient, researchers identified a method for targeting the cancer-causing protein produced by a mutant form of the KRAS gene.

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  No Safe Level of Smoking: Even low-intensity smokers are at increased risk of earlier death

  December 5, 2016

  People who consistently smoked an average of less than one cigarette per day over their lifetimes had a 64 percent higher risk of earlier death than people who never smoked.

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