December NCI Office of Advocacy Relations Update

50th Anniversary of the National Cancer Act

NCA-50 Landing Page

Find NCI resources related to the 50th anniversary commemoration here. 

Identifying What Puts People at Risk for Cancer

Environmental, behavioral, familial, and genetic factors can all play a role in determining someone’s risk for cancer. Through ongoing research, our understanding of these risk factors and their connection to this disease continues to evolve and along with it, our ability to better prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.

Upcoming Events

Joint Board of Scientific Advisors (BSA) / National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) Virtual Meeting, December 7-9, 2021

FDA OCE Conversations on Cancer: “50 Years and Counting: Engaging the Generations on Future Cancer Equity Opportunities,” December 13, 2021, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET (Registration required)

NIH Stakeholders Racial & Ethnic Equity Listening Session for Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs), Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Advocacy Organizations, December 14, 2021, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET (Registration required)

Upcoming NCI Director Appearances

Dr. Sharpless will be speaking at the following in December:

Nixon National Cancer Conference, December 2, 2021

FDA OCE Conversations on Cancer: “50 Years and Counting: Engaging the Generations on Future Cancer Equity Opportunities,” December 13, 2021, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET (Registration required)

For ongoing updates, follow @NCIDirector on Twitter.

Recent NCI Announcements

Drug combination helps children with acute promyelocytic leukemia avoid conventional chemotherapy (November 11, 2021)

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.

Ibrutinib improves survival for younger people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (November 4, 2021)

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.

Recent Cancer Currents Posts

Shorter, More Intensive Radiation Safe after Surgery for Prostate Cancer (November 18, 2021)

Many with prostate cancer can safely receive shorter, higher-dose radiation therapy after surgery, a new study has found. The approach, called HYPORT, didn’t harm patients’ quality of life compared with the standard radiation approach, trial finds.

Tecartus Becomes First CAR T-Cell Therapy Approved for Adults with ALL (November 10, 2021)

The CAR T-cell therapy Tecartus has become the first such treatment approved by FDA to treat adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The approval is for patients whose cancer has not responded to treatment or returned after treatment.

New on NCI’s Websites for November 2021 (November 5, 2021)

NCI periodically provides updates on new websites and other online content of interest to the cancer community. See selected content that has been added as of November 2021

Studies Delve Deep into the Protein Machinery of Cancer Cells (November 4, 2021)

A research team has identified common interactions between cancer-related proteins in cancer cells. They also created a map of how these protein complexes function in those cells and identified a promising treatment target for head and neck cancer.

Read more news at the Cancer Currents blog.