News & Events

A Children’s Oncology Group trial shows that the combination of all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide is highly effective in children with acute promyelocytic leukemia. The therapy avoids or minimizes the use of conventional chemotherapy.

NCI researchers have found that adding the targeted therapy ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to standard chemotherapy can improve how long some younger people with a specific form of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma live. The new findings come from a new analysis of a previously conducted phase 3 clinical trial called Phoenix.

Part 2 of the 2021 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, finds that the patient economic burden associated with cancer care in the United States in 2019 was $21.09 billion. This includes patient out-of-pocket costs of $16.22 billion and patient time costs of $4.87 billion.

A large surveillance study led by NCI researchers suggests that the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused more deaths in the United States among Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Latino individuals than among white or Asian individuals.

NCI scientists and their international collaborators have found that the majority of lung cancers in never smokers arise when mutations caused by natural processes in the body accumulate. They also identified three subtypes of lung cancer these individuals.

NCI scientists have developed a blood test that could one day offer a highly sensitive and inexpensive approach to detect cancer early in people with NF1. The blood test could also help doctors monitor how well patients are responding to treatment for their cancer.

The 2021 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer finds overall cancer death rates continue to decline in the United States for all cancer sites combined. The rapid drop in lung cancer and melanoma deaths led to the overall decline.

A team of international researchers has identified mutations in several genes, including TP53, MYOD1, and CDKN2A, that appear to be associated with an aggressive form of rhabdomyosarcoma in children. The findings could lead to more targeted treatments for the disease.

One study examined whether genetic changes associated with exposure to radiation from the 1986 accident were passed from parent to child. A second study documented the genetic changes in thyroid tumors from people exposed as children or fetuses to radiation from the accident.

In an NCI study, treating mice with engineered immune cells shrank tumors and prevented the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. The immunotherapy approach shows promise as a potential treatment for metastatic cancer.