Researchers have identified several genes that are consistently merged, or fused, in some prostate tumors and could potentially be used to detect the disease. The discovery is the first example of gene rearrangements recurring in a solid tumor, although such changes are a hallmark of some blood cancers.

The findings, reported in the October 28 Science, suggest that prostate cancer is not a special case and that other common cancers such as lung, breast, and colon may involve recurrent gene rearrangements. The study was completed in less than 4 months, and the initial results surprised even the researchers themselves.

"We were surprised because these types of gene rearrangements have been associated with leukemia and lymphoma but not with solid tumors," says Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan of the University of Michigan Medical School, who led the study. "To find this change in a majority of prostate cancers suggests that it is important in the disease."  Read more  



Guest Update by Dr. Paulette S. Gray

Electronic Grants Submission: Are You and Your Institution Ready?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), provide extensive financial support for researchers in the United States and throughout the world to understand, prevent, and cure diseases and chronic disorders. Acquiring NIH support begins with the submission of a grant application. Until now, this process has been entirely paper based, requiring extensive organization, printing, scanning, and data-entry hours - both on the investigator's end and at NIH.

Beginning this winter, the application process will transition from a paper-based operation to an electronic grants submission system. This ambitious changeover will occur in stages, beginning with the December 1, 2005, submission deadline for small business applicants. We expect the entire transition to be completed by May 2007.  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.