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A founding belief of the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) was that cancer is a disease that can be cured. Therefore, we commend the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for developing a robust National Cancer Plan to address further the complexity of beating cancer.

The National Cancer Plan, (April 2023) emphasizes eight goals that will help us build a ‘world where more cancers are prevented and where people diagnosed with cancer live full and active lives.’

The Eight Goals of the National Cancer Plan Aim to:

• Prevent Cancer
• Detect Cancers Early
• Develop Effective Treatment
• Eliminate Inequities
• Deliver Optimal Care
• Engage Every Person
• Maximize Data Utility
• Optimize the Workforce

NFCR is actively playing its role in addressing the issues outlined in the National Cancer Plan. We have an established history of encouraging and facilitating collaboration among scientists, especially across disciplines, to accelerate the pace of discovery to deliver treatments more quickly. Furthermore, we will continue to adapt our approach to meet the unmet needs of cancer patients.

In addition to our core collaboration focus, we have supported several research projects in prevention, detection, and treatment. Read more about our research approach and impact.

Finally, we continue to fund high-impact cancer research projects that show great promise in meeting a critical need of the cancer community. View our current-funded research projects.

Below are a Few Select NFCR Research Projects that Support the National Cancer Plan:

Preventing Cancer

The work of Dr. Helmut Sies, which discovered the cancer-preventative effects of lycopene, a widely recognized antioxidant found in tomatoes and other vegetables, was funded by NFCR for several decades. His discovery enhanced public awareness of maintaining a healthy diet for cancer prevention. Today, prevention remains our best defense against cancer. Because of this, NFCR has committed much of our public education efforts to reducing one’s risk of cancer. We continue to provide risk-mitigation tips surrounding fitness, food, and other environmental health factors.

Detecting Cancers Early

NFCR has long supported the circulating tumor cells research of Daniel A. Haber, M.D., Ph.D., which has led to the development of advanced cancer cell detection technology. The advanced cancer cell detection technology has demonstrated the capabilities of circulating tumor cell research to present significant benefits for cancer patients. Recently, we expanded our support to more researchers working with circulating tumor cells to help provide benefits to even more patients. Learn more.

Eliminating Inequities in Cancer

Precision oncology enables doctors to match proper and effective treatments to individual cancer patients. Dr. Wei Zhang’s team used leading-edge gene technologies to discover genes and factors that may cause lower survival rates in African American lung and uterine cancer patients than Caucasian-American patients. Knowing these factors is the first step to minimizing the disparity.

Delivering Optimal Cancer Care 

Glioblastoma brain cancer is a difficult-to-treat cancer with a dismal survival rate of 8-15 months post-diagnosis. To change this outcome, NFCR funded the paradigm-shifting clinical trial, GBM AGILE, which efficiently tests new treatments, advancing effective ones faster and rejecting ineffective ones quickly.

Now that GBM AGILE is operational and testing multiple arms of drugs simultaneously, NFCR is now focusing on supporting more candidate treatments to get through pre-clinical research and Phase I clinical trials so that they can enter GBM AGILE and, ultimately, benefit more patients.

Encouraging Action

“NFCR has long reminded our constituents that cancer patients cannot wait. Every moment is critical to reaching survival. The support of our more than 5.3 million individual donors has helped us develop solutions across the full spectrum of the cancer continuum. We look forward to continuing our work and encouraging others in the cancer community to rise to the occasion.” – NFCR CEO, Sujuan Ba.

Ba continues, “As the National Cancer Plan acknowledges, everyone has a part to play is discovering cures. NFCR has many ways individuals and organizations can get involved, and we hope more engagement follows the announcement of this plan.”

 NFCR is committed to Research for a Cure – cures for all types of cancer. We urge everyone to take part in this effort – Together, we can make a more significant impact. Learn more about ways to get involved in the fight against cancer with NFCR.