New on NCI’s Websites

October 16, 2015, by NCI Staff

NCI is constantly publishing new information on its websites, so periodically we’ll provide updates on new content of interest to the cancer community.

Children with Cancer: A Guide for Parents is a newly revised NCI publication that is intended to help parents cope with the challenges of caring for a child with cancer. This booklet provides practical information about finding doctors and hospitals, talking with your child about the disease, locating sources of support, and keeping medical information organized. 

NCI recently released its Annual Plan & Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2017. This annual budget proposal highlights NCI’s research priorities and strategic areas of investment.

The decoding of the human genome has given scientist unprecedented insight into the underpinnings of numerous diseases, including cancer. Now, as this new research update explains, a “gene editing” technology called CRISPR is generating excitement because of its potential to further untangle the genomic basis of cancer and other diseases.

As was the case in 2014, 2015 has seen the approval of many new treatments for cancer and cancer-related conditions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Over the last several months, the FDA approved:

• A combination of the drugs trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf®) to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body
• Another drug combination, netupitant and palonosetron (Akynzeo®), to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy
• Ondansetron (Zofran®) to treat nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery
• Rolapitant (Varubi™) to prevent delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
• Sonidegib (Odomzo®) to treat locally advanced basal cell carcinoma in patients whose disease has recurred after surgery or radiation therapy or who cannot undergo those treatments
• Gefitinib (Iressa®) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has specific mutations in the EGFR gene. (Cancer Currents also provided more information about the history behind this approval.)

All FDA drug approvals are based on results from carefully conducted clinical trials. NCI recently reported on several clinical trials whose results may influence cancer treatment, including those on:

• Forgoing chemotherapy in women at low risk for breast cancer recurrence
• Adding chemotherapy to hormone therapy in men with metastatic prostate cancer
• Using bisphosphonates after surgery for postmenopausal women with breast cancer

Cancer research produces massive amounts of data, so ensuring that researchers have access to that data and the tools to make the most use of it has become a serious challenge. NCI has developed a new resource to explain the role of bioinformatics in cancer research and how the institute is helping researchers make the most of big data.

NCI’s PDQ® cancer information summaries provide evidence-based information for both patients and health professionals and are among the most visited pages on the NCI website. Recently revised summaries include those for:

• Bile Duct Cancer Treatment
• Adult Central Nervous System Tumors Treatment
• Esophageal Cancer Treatment
• Melanoma Treatment
• Genetics of Kidney Cancer (Renal Cell Cancer)
• Genetics of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Neoplasias

NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program collects and publishes data on cancer incidence and mortality from population-based cancer registries that cover approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population. SEER staff uses these data to produce Did You Know? videos that  highlight key topics and trends in cancer statistics. The two most recent videos in the series highlight Cancer Health Disparities and provide an overview of Cancer Statistics.

The NCI Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Portal published the Prostate Cancer Map Story in recognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (September). This interactive map allows users to examine prostate cancer incidence and death rates at the state or county level. The Prostate Cancer Map Story is the latest in the NCI Map Stories series.

NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention recently launched a major program to bring new cancer prevention interventions and biomarkers through preclinical development toward clinical trials. Learn more about the PREVENT Cancer Preclinical Drug Development Program.