American Cancer Society and ACS CAN Statement on Newly Announced National Cancer Institute Director

Dr. Anthony Letai has been named as the National Cancer Institute (NCI)’s new director. This role is critical to ensuring ongoing innovation in oncology. 

The following is a statement from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) to this announcement:

“For the last 50 years, nearly every major medical breakthrough can be traced back to investments in the NIH, which houses the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Because of these investments, there are more than 18 million cancer survivors alive in the U.S. today, and researchers stand on the cusp of numerous new diagnostic tools and treatments,” said Shane Jacobson, CEO of the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “With over 2 million new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed this year, this is a critical time for the NCI, an agency that with appropriate and sustainable funding can produce scientific discoveries that get us closer to finding cures for the more than 200 diseases we know as cancer.”

Dr. Anthony Letai is an oncologist and researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, focusing on the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade death, and on the application of that knowledge to the selective killing of cancer cells. In addition, he is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the president of The Society for Functional Precision Medicine, which works to improve patient care and outcomes by facilitating implementation of functional assays into clinical care.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Letai and the NCI staff toward our shared goal of ending cancer as we know it for everyone, by prioritizing effective, transparent and evidence-based cancer research infrastructure and processes, including broad access to clinical trials, that can speed up progress in the fight against cancer,” added Jacobson.