National Cancer Institute

09/01/2026

During this Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we want to explore how an interoperable data ecosystem and innovative AI can improve outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer.

We invite all advocates, clinicians, data scientists, and individuals working to accelerate progress in pediatric cancer to NCI’s 2026 Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) Symposium on Friday, September 18. During the symposium, we will highlight the foundational work CCDI has accomplished and explore opportunities to accelerate discovery and improve outcomes.

Register today: https://events.cancer.gov/nci/ccdisymposium/registration

08/31/2026

NCI joins the cancer community in mourning Dr. Harold P. Freeman (1933-2026), a pioneer who dedicated his career to ensuring that everyone could benefit from advances in cancer care.

In 1990, Dr. Freeman established the nation’s first patient navigation program in Harlem, helping people overcome barriers to timely cancer diagnosis and treatment. He later became the founding director of NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, a critical area of NCI research today.

His work helped change cancer care—and his belief that progress must reach everyone continues to inspire our mission today.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and the many people touched by his extraordinary life and work.

08/28/2026

Since 1975, NCI's Cancer Information Service has provided accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information that is easy to understand. The service is free and confidential.

NCI's trained information specialists provide personalized responses to a range of cancer topics, including the treatment of cancer.

Do you have a question about cancer? Call us at 1-800-4-CANCER, live chat with us online, or email us at [email protected]. We're here to help. https://www.cancer.gov/contact

08/27/2026

How could a tumor in the lung influence whether someone wants to eat? Recent research in mice suggests the answer may involve a direct line of communication between the lungs and the brain.

Researchers studying cancer cachexia—a serious condition that can cause loss of appetite, muscle, and fat—found that certain lung tumors produced inflammatory signals that activated sensory fibers of the vagus nerve. Those nerve fibers connect the lungs with the brain and appeared to help suppress eating. When researchers interfered with parts of this pathway, the mice returned to more normal feeding behavior.

Understanding this tumor–nerve connection could eventually help researchers identify new approaches to supporting nutrition and quality of life for people with cancer. Learn more:

Researchers found that a high-fat diet in mice amplifies nerve signals between certain lung cancers and the brain, leading to reduced appetite and weight loss.

08/26/2026

The questions people ask at the end of life reveal where our health care system needs to listen more closely. A new analysis of more than 81,000 inquiries to NCI’s Cancer Information Service found that 2,333 focused on end-of-life concerns—and 90% of those came from caregivers. Questions frequently connected palliative care and hospice with finding health care services, cancer treatment, coping, and clinical trials.

These findings suggest that patients and families often need several kinds of information at once, rather than answers to a single question in isolation. Better support may mean anticipating those overlapping needs and making information and navigation easier to access—particularly for caregivers. Learn more: https://go.nih.gov/xNfBRzN

08/25/2026

Glioblastoma is deadlier in men, but why? Recent NCI research found that reducing testosterone and other male hormones in preclinical models triggered a chain of events involving inflammation, stress hormones, and the immune environment of the brain. The result was faster tumor growth.

Researchers then examined data from more than 1,300 men with glioblastoma. Men receiving supplemental testosterone for reasons unrelated to their cancer had a lower risk of death than those who were not—an association that supports further investigation.

The findings raise some fascinating questions, including how hormone signaling and the immune system interact in the brain and whether that biology could eventually reveal new approaches to treating glioblastoma. Read more:

In a new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study, scientists at Cleveland Clinic discovered that hormones associated with male development may play a key role in limiting the growth of brain tumors in men. The research team found that the loss of androgen hormones, such as testosterone, in....

08/24/2026

A busy few months are ahead for the cancer research community, with opportunities to connect, learn, and help move cancer research forward. Here are four to put on your calendar:

**2026 Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) Symposium**
Explore how data and AI can help improve outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer.
📅 Sept. 18 | In person + virtual
🔗 https://go.nih.gov/SA8yjBm

**NCI SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitations**
Developing an innovative cancer technology? NCI SBIR/STTR funding opportunities are available for eligible U.S. startups and small businesses.
📅 Receipt dates: Sept. 5, Jan. 5 and Apr. 5
💰 Phase I: up to $700K | Phase II: up to $2.5M
🔗 https://go.nih.gov/OofqLu9

**Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease InterseCtion Forum**
Researchers will come together to explore mechanisms connecting cancer and Alzheimer’s disease and available research resources.
📅 Aug. 27 | 12–1:30 p.m. ET | Virtual
🔗 https://go.nih.gov/jPclFjc

**AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities**
NCI’s Rena Jones will join a plenary session on environment and cancer in the era of Big E and Big Data.
📅 Oct. 20 | 1:15–2:45 p.m. | In person + virtual
🔗 https://go.nih.gov/Intd9M5

We hope to see you at one—or more—of these opportunities.

08/21/2026

Choosing the right research model is critical to advancing discoveries with the greatest potential for human impact.

In a post on NCI’s Bottom Line Blog, NCI Director Dr. Anthony Letai shares guidance for grant applications that include animal models. Beginning with the October 5, 2026, deadline, applicants should include a brief justification for animal use and a path for validating findings in a human model.

Learn what researchers should consider when preparing an application: https://go.nih.gov/GSiGrTQ

08/21/2026

Every scientific discovery becomes more valuable when other researchers can reliably reproduce it. That was the focus of the Reproducibility in Science 2026 symposium, which brought together experts from government, academia, industry, and scientific publishing to discuss how stronger research standards can accelerate progress.

From validating antibodies to developing standards for organoids and AI, reproducibility requires careful experimental design, quality control, documentation, data sharing, and collaboration. These practices help researchers spend less time chasing unreliable results and more time building on findings that can move science forward.

At NCI, that commitment includes developing standardized research reagents and workflows and sharing protocols and resources with the scientific community.

Learn more about the symposium and why reproducibility matters for cancer research:

The RAS Dialogue Blog posts are written by RAS experts sharing the latest research, updates, and scientific RAS news. The content is curated by the RAS Initiative.

08/20/2026

Aging leaves its mark on our cells—including on the machinery that helps chromosomes divide correctly. New research from NCI scientists suggests that some of those changes may be reversible.

Researchers studying human cells found that levels of two proteins critical to healthy chromosome division, CENP-A and CENP-C, decline with age. When researchers intervened in pathways involved in these changes, aged cells regained CENP-A and healthier chromatin structure, making them look and behave more like younger cells.

The findings are early, but they open an intriguing line of investigation into the biology connecting aging and cancer risk. Understanding these fundamental processes is how we uncover new possibilities for preventing cancer before it starts.

Read more about the research and what scientists are learning: https://go.nih.gov/XzyiBsH