The Future of Cancer Biology Research

The creativity of NCI-funded researchers and innovative technologies will drive novel insights never thought possible. These discoveries might include new insights into the causes of cancer and fundamental research leading to treatment breakthroughs. New technology might be developed that revolutionizes cancer research. The knowledge gained from our investments in basic research today will drive tomorrow’s advances to help patients with cancer and individuals at risk of the disease.

Vision

Researchers will have a comprehensive understanding of cancer biology that catalyzes the development of newer and safer ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer.

Approach

To improve our understanding of the many diseases we call cancer, we must unravel the complexity of how normal cells become cancerous and how cancer cells grow, survive, and spread throughout the body. To do this, NCI’s goals include the following:

1) Develop a comprehensive understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of cancer

A more complete understanding of cancer cell biology will enable new prevention, detection, and treatment approaches that take advantage of vulnerabilities identified in cancer cells and their precancerous lesions. Some of our major objectives are to:

• Understand the genetic changes that give rise to cancer and the mechanisms by which those changes occur, as well as how genes are abnormally regulated (e.g., epigenetics  )
• Research the biological processes underlying cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis
• Identify how tumors evolve and respond to or resist treatment
• Study how cellular processes—such as cancer cell metabolism , stress responses, and cell cycle  regulation—contribute to cancer development and progression

2) Understand how cancer cells interact with normal cells in the body to support or suppress tumor development and progression

Cancer can start in almost any tissue in the body, and the tissue in which a cancer develops and spreads can influence its molecular characteristics. This illustrates the importance of understanding the interactions between cancer cells and normal cells to develop new prevention and treatment approaches. NCI’s major objectives include:

• Characterizing the components of the tumor microenvironment  —including the cancer cells, connective tissue cells (fibroblasts), immune cells, bacterial cells (the tumor microbiome), blood vessels, and nerves—and determine their individual and collective influences on tumor progression and regression
• Understanding the mechanisms by which cancer cells communicate with surrounding normal cells and interact with them to promote tumor growth
• Clarifying how cells and tissues in other parts of the body interact with cancer cells to prevent or promote metastasis