Fraumeni Receives Alan Rabson Award
Dr. Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., director of NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, delivered the Third Annual Alan S. Rabson Award Lecture for Intramural Research, "Genes and the Environment in Cancer Causation," earlier today during the 2007 Intramural Scientific Retreat in Bethesda, MD. The Rabson Award was created in recognition of Dr. Rabson's dedication and enthusiasm for NCI and its intramural program during his 50-year tenure at NCI. Past recipients include Dr. Susan Gottesman of CCR's Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Dr. Steven Rosenberg, chief of NCI's Surgery Branch.

Susan Hubbard Dies at 60
Susan Molloy Hubbard died on December 11, 2006, at her home in Potomac, MD. Ms. Hubbard was an honors graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in nursing, and began her career in the late 1960s as a cancer-unit nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 1979, she became an oncology research nurse at the NIH, and later served as chief of NCI's Scientific Information Branch in the Division of Cancer Treatment. She retired in 2002 as director of NCI's International Cancer Information Center. At the time of her retirement, she had served 22 years in the U.S. Public Health Service and had achieved the rank of captain. 

Ms. Hubbard was instrumental in creating NCI's PDQ cancer information database and the CancerNet Web site, which was later integrated into the redesigned NCI Web site, www.cancer.gov. She received many awards, including the University of Connecticut's first Outstanding Alumni Award for Leadership in Nursing, the U.S. Public Health Service's Distinguished Service Medal, the NIH Director's Award, and the Good Housekeeping Award for Women in Government. She authored or contributed to more than 170 articles in medical journals and textbooks. She also earned a master's degree in public administration from American University.  

Guidelines Released for Accessing PCPT Biorepository Samples
Biorepository samples from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) are available to researchers. Specimens include serum, white blood cells, and prostate biopsy tissues.

Guidelines on how to access the PCPT biospecimens were recently released by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), the research network in charge of the trial, and are posted on the SWOG Web site and linked from the NCI PCPT Web page.

PCPT was a study designed to see whether the drug finasteride (Proscar) could prevent prostate cancer in men ages 55 and older. The trial began in October 1993 and was stopped in June 2003 because of a clear finding that finasteride reduced the incidence of prostate cancer. Trial participants had annual PSA exams and most had prostate biopsies at the end of the trial.

NCI Marks 70 Years of Excellence in Cancer Research
Throughout 2007, NCI will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Cancer Institute Act. Readers can learn more about the birth of the Institute and its strides in research by visiting http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/ncia. The site features links to NCI-related legislation and background on NCI's leadership of the National Cancer Program. Other features include the Cancer Advances in Focus, a collection of fact sheets outlining research progress against specific diseases and plans for the future, and the 100 Years of Advances Against Cancer slide show, showcasing important research breakthroughs and historic photographs throughout the years.