Brief Histories of U.S. Government Agencies Volume Three by Michael Erbschloe - HTML preview

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Recognizing that cancer touches the lives of every person in our nation, the United States has a long history of advocacy and legislation that aims to minimize the burden of this disease. Since the 1930s, treating and preventing cancer has been a priority of our federal government. The National Cancer Act of 1937 was the first time Congress officially designated, or appropriated, funds to a non-infectious disease. This act established the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which remains the primary federal agency dedicated to addressing research and training needs for the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. It called upon NCI to assist and promote cancer research at other public and private institutions, a call which continues to drive NCI’s mission today.

NCI became part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1944, under the Public Health Service Act. Amendments to this act added to the activities of NCI, including the establishment of the National Cancer Advisory Board, cancer control programs, information dissemination, cancer centers, the President’s Cancer Panel, construction authority, and training authority. The National Cancer Act of 1971, which revised the sections of the Public Health Service Act related to NCI, established NCI as we know it today.

• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.
• NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of 11 agencies that comprise the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
• BCI is located on the NIH campus at 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, with satellite offices in Rockville and Frederick, MD.
• There is a team of almost 4,000 people.

The NCI coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients. Specifically we:

• Provide research grants and cooperative agreements to coordinate and support research projects conducted by universities, hospitals, research foundations, and businesses throughout this country and abroad.
• Conduct research in our own laboratories and clinics.
•  Scope of Our Work Module Enlarge 
• Support education and training in fundamental sciences and clinical disciplines for participation in basic and clinical research programs and treatment programs relating to cancer through career awards, training grants, and fellowships.
• Support research projects in cancer control.
• Support a national network of cancer centers.
• Collaborate with voluntary organizations and other national and foreign institutions engaged in cancer research and training activities.
• Encourage and coordinate cancer research by industrial concerns where such concerns demonstrate a particular capability for programmatic research.
• Collect and disseminate information on cancer detection, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, control, palliative care, and survivorship.
• Support construction of laboratories, clinics, and related facilities necessary for cancer research through the award of construction grants.
• Support the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research - the only federally funded research and development center dedicated exclusively to biomedical research.

As a federal agency, NCI receives its funds from Congress. Most of our budget is used to fund grants and contracts to universities, medical schools, cancer centers, research laboratories, and private firms in the United States and about 60 other countries around the world. These funds also support research at the Institute’s headquarters in Bethesda, MD, and in laboratories and medical centers throughout the United States and in other countries.

Because of the work of NCI scientists and cancer researchers throughout the United States and the rest of the world, real progress is being made against cancer. In the United States, the rate of new cancer cases overall has been declining since 1999, and the rate of cancer deaths overall has been decreasing for more than a decade. These trends reflect improvements in cancer treatment and advances in technology that have led to better tools for understanding, detecting, and diagnosing cancer. People with cancer are living longer and have a better quality of life than ever before. In 2012, there were about 14 million cancer survivors in the United States.

The cancer research community—under the leadership of the NCI—is poised to accelerate the rate of scientific discovery and reduce the burden of cancer in the United States and around the world. Achieving these goals, however, requires strong and sustained funding for a wide range of research disciplines—from basic science to clinical science to research on implementation and cancer care delivery. The NCI’s Annual Plan and Budget Proposal describes current opportunities to build on and advance cancer research. You can also learn more about our priority initiatives.

(Link: https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/overview)