In Appropriations Testimony -- NCI Director Announces Cancer Deaths Plateau, Cites Success from Cancer Genome Anatomy Project

National Cancer Institute
Tuesday, 15 February 2000

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Richard Klausner, M.D., today testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations that "For the first time, between 1996 and 1997, the total number of cancer deaths in the United States did not rise, despite a growing and aging population."

He also reported that "the decrease in overall cancer mortality rates first observed in the early 1990s are accelerating between 1995 and 1997, the latest year for which we have data." Rates are a per capita measure of the burden of cancer – given as a number per 100,000 and adjusted to account for the fact that the U.S. population is growing older on average. More than half a million Americans die of cancer each year.

Klausner also explained how the genetic discoveries of the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project, which created a comprehensive index of genes that are altered in various cancers, has led to emerging diagnostic tools like the Lymphochip. The Lymphochip is a customized microarray, slightly larger than a penny, which contains over 18,000 genes involved in the immune system and cancer development.

In a report in the Feb. 3 issue of Nature, researchers who developed the Lymphochip showed that molecular diagnosis enables the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to be subdivided into two distinct diseases: one that responds well to standard chemotherapy and one that does not. According to the scientists, this finding shows the future importance of defining the distinct molecular characteristics of tumors as a way to more accurately diagnose and treat cancer.

Full text of the statement submitted to the subcommittee is available at NCI's Web site at http://www.nci.nih.gov/legis/fy2001.html and from the NCI Press Office at (301) 496-6641. The online testimony includes links to NCI programs and resources mentioned in the statement. A separate statement about the Feb. 3 Nature article is also available from the NCI Press Office.

For more information, or to contact National Cancer Institute, see their website at: www.cancer.gov