New on NCI’s Websites for June 2016

June 16, 2016 by NCI Staff

NCI constantly publishes new information on its websites, so periodically we provide updates on new content of interest to the cancer community.

Genomic Data Commons Launched

On June 6, Vice President Joe Biden announced the launch of the Genomic Data Commons(GDC), an NCI-supported open-access database for sharing genomic and clinical data between researchers across the country and around the world.

As part of his announcement, the vice president toured the facility at the University of Chicago where the GDC is housed and managed and discussed its role in the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative during a speech at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. This video explains how this new data repository will help to advance cancer research.

Survivorship Care for Children

A new page on NCI's website discusses care for children with cancer after their treatmenthas been completed. The page includes information on follow-up care after cancer treatment, long-term and late effects associated with cancer and its treatment, and questions to ask your child’s health care team.

NCI Researchers Testing Safety of Immunotherapy Drug in Patients with HIV

Researchers in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research are conducting a phase I clinical trial of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) for adults with HIV who have cancer that has recurred after or not responded to prior treatment.

New Online Tool Helps People Recognize Dangerous Moles

NCI has launched a new online tool called Moles to Melanoma: Recognizing the ABCDE Features. The new tool uses a series of photographs to show people how the appearances of common moles, dysplastic nevi, and melanomas differ.

Application Period Open for NCI Biospecimen Use

NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) is now accepting applications for investigators interested in obtaining biospecimens and data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.

DCP has also published a new video to help people learn more about cancer screening research.

Imaging-Guided Surveillance May Spare Some Head-and-Neck Cancer Patients from Surgery

Results from a recently published clinical trial show that PET-CT imaging may help clinicians decide whether some patients with head and neck cancer need surgery. In the trial, patients with advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer who underwent PET-CT imaging after chemotherapy and radiation treatment to determine if they still needed to have surgery had overall survival rates similar to those of patients who underwent planned neck surgery after chemoradiation. PET-CT imaging, the trial showed, resulted in fewer operations and was more cost-effective.

New Drug Information Summaries Added

Two new drug information summaries have been added to the NCI website.

Hydroxyurea is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CLL) and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
Atezolizumab was recently approved by the FDA to treat certain patients with urothelial carcinoma (a type of bladder cancer) that is locally advanced or has metastasized.

PDQ Summaries Updated

More than two dozen PDQ cancer information summaries for health professionals have been updated recently, including:

To receive a complete list of PDQ summaries as they are updated, subscribe to receive email notifications from NCI.

NCI Social Media Channels Win Awards

NCI’s Facebook page, Cancer Currents blog, and Twitter account all won awards in the Spring 2016 Digital Health Awards competition . In this spring’s competition, the NCI Enterprise Facebook page won a Gold Award in the Facebook category, the Cancer Currents blog won a Silver (top award) in the blog category, and NCI’s Enterprise Twitter account received a Merit Award in the Twitter category.