New Strategic Investments 2007

Each of these five new investment areas represents a critical path for reaching NCI's Challenge Goal to the Nation. Each promises to yield high return but will require a substantial investment of resources.

Fostering more integration within and among NCI-designated Cancer Centers will boost synergism, reduce redundancy, and leverage resources. A more extensive, robust, and active Cancer Center system will foster community-based research and service programs targeted to medically underserved populations.

Reengineering our clinical trials system will allow us to move the growing backlog of potential prevention and therapeutic agents through clinical testing. New strategies for improving trial accrual, prioritization, coordination, and efficiency will dramatically accelerate the movement of new interventions into medical practice.

Building better linkages between emerging technologies and cancer science will reduce the cost, improve precision, and reduce harmful side effects of medical procedures. Advanced imaging, clinical proteomics, and nanotechnology will improve our understanding of cancer biology, facilitate the management of cancer risk, and help make "personalized" medicine a reality.

Common platforms and tools for medical informatics and health information systems will be used to support national efforts to develop and use electronic medical and personal health records. The cancer Bioinformatics Grid^TM and the cancer clinical trials system provide ideal test beds for development of electronic health systems.

A more integrative approach to understanding cancer will help researchers identify biomarkers for predicting who is at high risk for cancer; identify molecular targets of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; develop strategies for intervening early in the cancer process; and improve the quality of cancer services.