I can think of no area where we are better poised to take advantage of the new science of genetics than cancer. That will lead to new therapies and means of diagnosis. Already, NCI-funded scientists have identified the genetic pathways that lead to some forms of breast, colon and kidney cancers, among others. We want to be able to read an individual s genes to distinguish between different types of cancer and to know who is at risk of getting them, Klausner says. Klausner also hopes to use the extra money to speed up the clinical trials NIH uses to test new therapies.
Clinical trials are the gold standard of scientific studies.
Culminating years of research, they are used to test a new therapy, drug or medical procedure sometimes on thousands of subjects to determine which ones work under what circumstances and what side effects may result. But clinical trials take time, much of it spent recruiting potential subjects. More money, Klausner says, will let NCI-funded researchers complete the studies in a more timely fashion. More money will also let the National Human Genome Research Institute expand what is known about genes and how they affect our growth, behavior and diseases. What we re doing will benefit the entire NIH, not just a single disease.