Cancer Currents: An NCI Cancer Research Blog

A puzzle diagram titled “Cancer Surveillance: What do we need to collect”? In the center, a piece is labeled “Cancer Patient”; the other puzzles are various types of treatments.

Future Directions for NCI’s Surveillance Research Program

By NCI Staff
April 17, 2015

Since the early 1970s, NCI’s SEER program has been an invaluable resource for statistics on cancer in the United States. For the past several years, SEER researchers have been working toward a much broader and comprehensive goal for providing cancer statistics on a nationwide basis.

Dr. Christian Hinrichs and Susan Scott stand looking at the camera and smile. Dr. Hinrichs has short dark hair, is wearing glasses, a white coat, and shirt and tie. Susan has short, dirty blonde hair, is wearing sunglasses on top of her head and a large purple scarf and top.

Immune-Based Treatment Shows Promise against Metastatic Cervical Cancer

By NCI Staff
April 16, 2015

In an early phase NCI clinical trial, two patients with metastatic cervical cancer had a complete disappearance of their tumors after receiving treatment with a form of immunotherapy called adoptive cell transfer.

Small, multi-colored chromosomes floating on a black background, with two larger multicolored circles on either side.

Microscopy Advances Open Up New Avenues of Cancer Discovery

By NCI Staff
April 15, 2015

Today’s high-powered microscopes are allowing researchers to study the fine details of individual cells and to peer into cells, opening up new avenues of discovery about the inner workings of cells, including the events that can cause healthy cells to transform into cancer cells.

Advancing Cancer Care Delivery Research in the Next Decade

By Robert Croyle, Ph.D.
April 14, 2015

A more substantial and coordinated effort is needed to advance the science of cancer care delivery to help address the complex problems facing our health care systems. In response, NCI has created a new Healthcare Delivery Research Program (HDRP) to strengthen its support and coordination of research in ways that both improve survival and enhance patient care experiences.

Facilitating Research, Fueling Collaboration: Dr. Frank McCormick on the RAS Initiative

By NCI Staff
April 9, 2015

Frank McCormick, Ph.D., talks about the history, the challenges, and the future of research on RAS gene mutations, which drive more than 30 percent of all human cancers.

Computer generated image of a RAS protein. Curly strands on either side make the overall protein appear heart-shaped; in the center of the strands, a cylindrical shape contains a chain of amino acids which appear as small spheres connected by lines.

The RAS Problem: Turning Off a Broken Switch

By NCI Staff
April 9, 2015

The RAS gene is commonly mutated in cancer and researchers are working to better understand how to develop drugs that can target the RAS protein, which for many years has been considered to be “undruggable.”

The Cancer Genome Atlas: Generating a "Parts List" for Cancer

By Jean-Claude Zenklusen, Ph.D.
April 2, 2015

Jean-Claude Zenklusen, Ph.D., discusses the accomplishments and future of The Cancer Genome Atlas, inspired by topics covered in the documentary film, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.

A Message to the Cancer Research Community

By Douglas Lowy, M.D.
April 1, 2015

Doug Lowy, M.D., a long-time researcher and leader at NCI, greets the cancer research community as the institute's new acting director.

The Importance of Cancer Prevention Research and its Challenges

By Barry Kramer, M.D., M.P.H.
April 1, 2015

Barry Kramer, M.D., M.P.H., talks about NCI's efforts for improving cancer prevention and early detection, two topics discussed in the documentary film, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.

Looking to the Future of Childhood Cancer Research

By Malcolm A. Smith, M.D., Ph.D.
March 31, 2015

NCI’s Dr. Malcolm Smith discusses future directions of childhood cancer research, including treatment directions and clinical trials.