Defining the Signatures of Cancer Cells
he ability to identify unique molecular changes in cancer cells holds enormous promise for improving the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. The challenge now is twofold: to further refine technologies to detect these changes and to develop diagnostic tests that will permit cancer treatment to be based on the unique signature of a tumor.

In March 1996, NCI Director Dr. Richard Klausner convened a Working Group to help NCI plan how best to meet this challenge. His charge to the group was to define the research and infrastructure needs that would enable the cancer research community to develop new approaches for cancer diagnosis and prognosis based on the molecular characteristics of the cancer cell. Later, the charge was expanded to include new approaches to early detection.