October 17, 2005 - The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced funding for a major component of its $144.3 million, five-year initiative for nanotechnology in cancer research. Awards totaling $35 million over five years, with $7 million total in the first year, will establish 12 Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships.

"The future of oncology -- and the opportunity to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer -- will hinge upon our ability to confront cancer at its molecular level," said Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute. "Nanodevices, invisible to the naked eye and a tiny fraction the width of a human hair, will enable researchers to probe genetic defects inside cells, detect the earliest aberrations of cellular function that lead to cancer, and correct those errant processes long before they give rise to cancers large enough to be diagnosed by today's methods."

Nanotechnology, the development and engineering of devices so small that they are measured on a molecular scale, already has demonstrated promising results in cancer research and treatment. In September 2004, the NCI launched the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer as a comprehensive, integrated initiative to develop and translate cancer-related nanotechnology research into clinical practice.
The NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer encompasses four major program components, including the Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships. These partnerships, modeled after the NIH Bioengineering Research Partnerships, are designed to develop technologies for new products in six key programmatic areas: molecular imaging and early detection, in vivo imaging, reporters of efficacy (e.g., real-time assessments of treatment), multifunctional therapeutics, prevention and control, and research enablers (opening new pathways for research).

The awards reflect a cross-section of technologies, disciplines, cancer types, geographies, and risk/reward profiles, and will link universities to NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. The awards, in alphabetical order by principal investigator, include:

* Nanotherapeutic Strategy for Multidrug Resistant Tumors, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass. Principal investigator: Mansoor Amiji, Ph.D.

* DNA-linked Dendrimer Nanoparticle Systems for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Principal investigator: James Baker Jr., M.D.

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