On behalf of the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer (CPTC), I welcome you to the CPTC 2nd Annual Meeting, October 28-29, 2008, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Proteomics holds great promise in our fight against cancer, but there is a significant challenge that must be overcome. Laboratories across the country collect and study proteins in different ways. It is clear that the potential of proteomics for cancer detection and treatment requires that the nonbiological sources of variability be eliminated and that the biological variables be accounted for as completely as possible.

In recognition of these challenges facing the proteomics community, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched the CPTC, a 5-year initiative aimed at addressing and reducing the layers of variability that prevent progress in applying proteomic insight to clinical practice. This program was put together carefully in collaboration with the international proteomics community, through a series of meetings that outlined the key challenges and offered potential solutions. As a result, the CPTC is truly a reflection of what the community needs: defining proteomics platform performance parameters at every step of the biomarker discovery pipeline.

In addition to presenting a significant amount of work produced by our teams and individual investigators who are helping lay the groundwork to advance our understanding of protein biology in cancer and accelerate discovery research and clinical applications, this year’s meeting will highlight public-private partnerships and community-based resources such as the NCI’s newly launched Antibody Characterization Program, a component of the CPTC.

Finally, a special joint session has been developed for CPTC investigators and the NCI’s Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies Program. These programs are overseen by the Office of Technology and Industrial Relations in the Office of the Director and are committed to accelerating the progress of cancer research through technology-driven initiatives, collaboration with other Federal Government programs, and engagement with the private sector.

I look forward to seeing you in Cambridge!

Sincerely,
Henry Rodriguez, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Director, Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer
Office of Technology and Industrial Relations
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute