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New Test to Detect Recurrence of Bladder Cancer Begins Validation Study
A 3-year study to validate a sensitive
and noninvasive test to detect the recurrence of bladder cancer has been initiated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at 12 centers across the United States and Canada. This test, conceived and conducted by NCI's Early Detection Research Network (EDRN), examines genetic changes in DNA obtained through urine samples. "This is the first study of its kind," says Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, who heads EDRN as chief of the Cancer Biomarkers Research Group in NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention. "It's the first study testing a marker for bladder cancer, and the first phase III study for an EDRN-created test." EDRN, established by NCI in early 2000, is a broad, interdisciplinary consortium whose work is aimed at both identifying and validating cancer biomarkers for use in early cancer detection. Numerous proteins and genes have been linked with a variety of cancers, which makes them potential
targets for identifying the risk of cancer onset, progression, or recurrence.
The validation - proving that this link accurately signifies a risk for or presence of cancer - is the critical step in creating a truly useful test. Read
more 
Cancer Centers:
A Source of Hope and Confidence
In my position as NCI director, I continue to be heartened by the fervor in the cancer community for the daily progress we are making against this disease. Yesterday, I had the privilege to receive a double dose of this enthusiasm at the University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC), where I toured an impressive 12-story, 600,640-square foot, new cancer
research facility at UCCC and participated
in the Tour of Hope event being held there. The day's activities featured Lance Armstrong and the entire 20-member Tour of Hope team, as well as one of the world's most preeminent lung cancer researchers, Dr. Paul Bunn.
Dr. Bunn has directed UCCC since its inception in 1987, and also serves as the director of the NCI-funded lung
cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) at the
center - one of six lung cancer SPOREs
across the country. Dr. Bunn has been a tireless leader in the battle against cancer, taking his expertise beyond the laboratory and clinic to be a vocal
proponent of antismoking campaigns
and other activities to curb smoking.
With a six-time Tour de France champion
and a tour-de-force researcher/clinician on the same stage, it was a sterling example of the high-caliber team that has assembled to lead the fight against cancer. Read
more
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This NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads a national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic and clinical biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can 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://cancer.gov.
NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.
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