What’s New Online from NCI?
, by NCI Staff
NCI is constantly publishing new information on its websites, so periodically we’ll be providing updates on new content of interest to the cancer community.
Among the biggest and most noticeable changes is the recent launch of a new version of NCI’s main website, www.cancer.gov. As Peter Garrett, director of NCI’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison, explained in a recent Cancer Currents post, the new site includes some major changes, including new functionality and new content.
Along with the launch of the new cancer.gov, several NCI divisions and centers have also revamped their web presences recently.
- The Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) website, for example, now has several new features, including improved search capabilities and a News section that features important news about DCP programs and supported research.
- NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) launched a new website that features information about cancer health disparities, announcements of funding for training and research, and profiles of programs, projects, and grantees.
- The new website for NCI’s Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG) includes information on NCI’s programs and initiatives to advance genomic science, NCI collaborations with academic and industry partners, interviews with investigators, updates from CCG's director, and the latest news and announcements from CCG.
The most recent issue of CCR connections, the long-running semiannual magazine from NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR), highlights some of CCR’s multidisciplinary research efforts, including research on finding disease-fighting compounds in natural sources like plants and marine organisms, understanding and treating pancreatic cancer, and developing a more nuanced approach to allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
And NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) July 2015 issue of its newsletter Linkage includes stories on a collaboration between DCEG and Italian researchers to identify the steps that lead to the development of lung cancer and how DCEG researchers are using an innovative statistical model to help answer important research questions, among other features.
Cancer overdiagnosis is a topic that has received a lot of attention over the past few years. Barry Kramer, M.D., director of NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention, recently answered questions about this important issue. Check out what he had to say.
In the realm of cancer clinical trials, NCI recently launched a website for the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN). The site includes an overview of the program, the history of NCTN, and information about the program’s budget.
And did you know that NCI recently revamped its clinical trials search function? Read about the changes in this blog post by Warren Kibbe, Ph.D., director of NCI’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology.
In addition to being able to find clinical trials that are recruiting patients, it’s important for health care professionals, patients, and researchers to know the results of trials that are likely to influence patient care. New summaries of results from several important clinical trials have recently been published, including those on
- Adjuvant chemotherapy for prostate cancer
- Checkpoint inhibitor therapy for advanced melanoma
- Oral chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer
- Combination checkpoint therapy for advanced melanoma
- Radiotherapy for brain metastases
- Treatment to prevent side effects for children with cancer
- 9-valent HPV vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancers