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Although more than 1.4 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2008, cancer death rates in the U.S. have dropped each year since 1990. Today there are over 11 million cancer survivors in America. Much of this improvement is due to cancer research supported by NCI.

Each year NCI funds over 5,000 grants, and of those, almost 1,500 are new grants. NCI's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program alone oversees nearly 1,000 active clinical studies, or clinical trials, involving people with cancer every year. Also, NCI's Developmental Therapeutics Program has been involved in the development of more than 40 different approved cancer treatment drugs ².

NCI Funding

NCI Funded Research Portfolio ³
Fiscal year 2008 NCI database of all funding, including for each major cancer type

Grant and Contract Awards to Institutions Across the U.S. ⁴
Fiscal year 2008 NCI grants and contracts to each state

Grant Success Rates ⁵
Fiscal year 2008 percentages and numbers of grants funded by category

Research Outcomes

Recent Advances in Cancer Research ⁶
A collection of summaries of selected scientific advances from NCI-supported research

100 Years of Advances Against Cancer ⁷
Timeline of key discoveries, advances, and events in cancer research from 1900-2008

Success Stories in Technology Transfer ⁸
NCI's role in developing important drugs and technologies for patients

Cancer Advances In Focus ⁹
Online fact sheets highlighting progress in some major cancer sites over the last 35 years

NIH Fact Sheet: Accomplishments in Public Health ¹⁰
A 4-page PDF fact sheet of accomplishments resulting from the 1998-2003 doubling of the NIH budget