Under a new initiative, the National Cancer Institute (NCI; Bethesda, MD) is funding the development of nanoscale devices that could move traditional cancer therapy beyond the realm of pharmaceuticals and chemotherapeutic agents to more effectively target and destroy tumor cells.

NCI in early October launched a major component of its $144.3 million, five-year project for nanotechnology in cancer research by awarding first-year grants totaling $26.3 million to universities across the country to help establish seven Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNEs). These centers will develop nanotechnology platforms to help treat, understand, and monitor cancer.

NCI's Barker: Networking cancer research.

In what we believe will be a paradigm shift for cancer research, unprecedented numbers of multidisciplinary teams of basic and clinical researchers at world-class institutions are networking their research together to focus on the key cancer nanotech opportunities,” says Anna Barker, PhD, NCI deputy director. “With the advent of the CCNEs, we are particularly looking forward to new nanotech-based therapeutic delivery systems that could enhance the efficacy and tolerability of cancer treatments.”

Each CCNE awardee is affiliated with at least one NCI-designated cancer center, as well as schools of engineering and physical sciences. The universities are also affiliated with nonprofit and private-sector firms that are focused on advancing the technologies being developed under the initiative.

Several of the CCNEs will be the result of collaborations between two universities. The centers will be established through the following academic institutions.

• University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC).

• Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta).