Director’s Message
NCI Director W. Kimryn Rathmell, M.D., Ph.D., M.M.H.C.
When I began as a kidney cancer–focused oncologist a couple of decades ago, cancer science had not progressed enough to give almost any of my patients the one thing they all wanted—more time with their loved ones. Too often, even the best available advances only gave them a few additional months.
Today, kidney cancer has a very different outlook. Thanks to biological and clinical research led by NCI-supported scientists—and the unrelenting dedication of doctors, advocates, patients, and families—we can tell a new story. We have effective treatments for several types of kidney cancer, including a drug for people with a hereditary form of kidney cancer that controls their tumors with minimal side effects. Outcomes are improving for people with early-stage disease, and many with metastatic kidney cancer are being cured or living years with their cancer instead of months. The horizon holds promise to treat more kidney cancers and provide new approaches for prevention and early detection.
We can tell the same stories for many cancers because of robust NCI investment in cancer science that has delivered enormous returns for the American people and the world. NCI-led research has paved the way for breakthroughs in prevention, screening, and treatment that have driven down cancer mortality rates over the past three decades. Many cancers once considered a death sentence now have dramatically better outlooks, such as advanced lung cancer and metastatic melanoma. We’ve seen similar progress with prostate cancer, breast cancer, and many others.
Unfortunately, research has not yet made enough progress for the more than 600,000 people expected to die from cancer in the United States in 2024. There is still much more to do for the more than 18 million people alive in our country today who have heard those frightening words, “You have cancer.”
We are so close to transforming cancer from something people fear to a condition that we manage, prevent, or cure. For instance, this year, we achieved the first cellular therapy approved for a solid tumor, melanoma. This treatment, pioneered by NCI funding, has also shown promise against advanced colorectal cancer, advanced breast cancer, and even glioblastoma.
NCI research is also illuminating artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential to tell us which treatments are most likely to work, enhance screening for precancers before they progress to cancer, and help find some of the hardest cancers to detect early. Approaches like these could greatly improve outcomes.
We are on the doorstep of much more progress. The rapid pace of cancer research discovery and innovation, the availability of powerful technology and infrastructure, and a cadre of talented people provide us with extraordinary opportunities for more lifesaving advances.
To achieve its full potential, the cancer research enterprise, known collectively as the National Cancer Program, must be mobilized to work at full strength—together. That starts with a diverse and innovative workforce empowered to produce the discoveries of tomorrow and reach people affected disproportionately by cancer—including racial and ethnic minority groups and those in rural areas—by addressing access to research and barriers to care.
It is critical that scientists have access to accurate data, representative of all patient populations, to engineer new machine learning and AI algorithms that predict the best interventions. We must revolutionize clinical research so that promising approaches and discoveries are tested in clinical studies that are accessible, inclusive, nimble, and able to rapidly answer the most pressing questions for all populations.
Finally, we must continue to generate the foundational scientific evidence necessary to strengthen cancer prevention, enhance screening, and deliver optimal care to everyone confronted by cancer.
With strategic increased investments through NCI, the cancer research enterprise could be fully powered to achieve the scientific breakthroughs required to reach the Cancer Moonshot℠ goal to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% by 2047 and improve the experience of patients and families facing a cancer diagnosis.
As the largest funder and a key catalyst for all aspects of cancer science, NCI is the linchpin that unites cancer research through the National Cancer Program. We are dedicated to bringing all stakeholders together to achieve the mission to advance scientific knowledge and help all people live longer, healthier lives.
NCI investments in training, data, science, and infrastructure sustain cancer research performed at cancer centers, hospitals, community clinics, and universities across the United States—assembling major networks that empower the advances needed in our current era. These activities, in turn, advance not only science, but the economic health of communities by creating jobs and fueling local entrepreneurship. NCI’s nationwide research networks make it possible for people in all 50 states to participate in research. In this role, NCI has a unique ability to reach deep into communities to understand people’s specific challenges, while also shaping our national efforts to take advantage of transformative opportunities.
This proposal highlights four immediate scientific opportunities to move the needle against cancer even further. They include reversing the alarming rise of cancer among young adults, understanding how cancer in one organ site affects the entire body, identifying ways to overcome the financial hardships that contribute to worse outcomes for many people, and developing vaccines to train the body’s immune system to prevent or treat cancers. Of course, these four areas offer only a snapshot of the extraordinary opportunities and pressing challenges we must embrace with urgency.
When I think of how far cancer science has come, and the exciting ideas and promising interventions within reach, I am simply in awe. Together, we can radically change the experience of cancer and improve cancer outcomes to give more Americans more time to create lasting memories with their loved ones.