Katie Goldberg

Thomas J. Lynch Jr. and Howard A. “Skip” Burris III lead two institutions that couldn’t be more different—an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center on one side of the country and a for-profit research enterprise on the other—but they stay up at nights worrying about the same thing.

As the Trump administration reshapes the cancer research enterprise that was built on the foundation of the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Cancer History Project presents an eyewitness account of the impact of this landmark law.

When Helene Brown, a cancer control pioneer who jokingly described herself as “the first in a long line of political oncologists,” delivered the keynote address at the Oncology Nursing Society annual meeting in 1990, she set forth bold predictions for the ensuing 20 years of the field: appointments conducted over “computerphone,” major genetic breakthroughs, and universal healthcare.

The web page for the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity is no more. The pages for the NCI Diversity Training and Biomedical Workforce Development Branch and Disparities Research Branch are kaput as well.

What does the most-read story of 2024 say about the priorities of our readers?

In 2021, The Cancer Letter launched the Cancer History Project, a first-of-its-kind collaborative archive of oncology’s history.

As oncology contemplates the potential impact of a second Donald Trump term on cancer care and research, The Cancer Letter has compiled a list of guest editorials, news analyses, and data-driven reports that this magazine published during his first term. 

The Cancer Letter’s summer reading list is here and it’s full of titles to help you drive professional growth, reflect on a divided nation—and even explore a little “neural nostalgia” with Beyoncé.

The Cancer Letter staff were finalists for six 2024 Dateline Awards from the Washington, DC, Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists—three for journalism, and three for design—and won first place for two.

On Dec. 21, 1973, Jerry D. Boyd ran the first printing of a little newsletter that would become The Cancer Letter.

We think of the compilation of The Cancer Letter’s most-read stories as an end-of-year snapshot  of oncology’s priorities. 

What drew Jim Allison to T cells, Hagop Kantarjian to leukemia, or Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan to breast cancer advocacy?  

Every August since 2020, The Cancer Letter has asked a diverse panel of clinicians, basic scientists, early-career faculty, patient advocates, government officials, and regulators to tell us what they are reading.

The Cancer Letter staff  members were finalists for seven 2023 Dateline Awards from the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists—four for journalism, and three for design—and won first place for three.

2022 was the year to try to return to normal—or at least an approximation thereof.

The Cancer History Project preserves legacies, stories, and transcripts.

Is 2022 the year of thrillers? Statistics? Thrillers about statistics?

The Cancer Letter staff won seven first-place Dateline Awards from the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists­—three for journalism and four for design.

The ASCO annual meeting began in 1964 as a group of 51 physicians finalizing the bylaws of the organization—and has since turned into a much-anticipated global event that brings together 35,000 to 40,000 people across all areas of oncology. 

Fifty years ago, President Nixon interrupted Christmas festivities to sign the National Cancer Act of 1971 into law. Fifty years later, we invite you to immerse yourself in that day to reflect on how far we’ve come.

Directors of the first three NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers are learning from the past, starting with the National Cancer Act, and mapping an equitable future for oncology.

The battle over which institution gets to call itself the first cancer center is extremely complex—in part because the contenders predate NCI’s definition of a “cancer center.”

An NCI press conference is rarely a tabloid affair—except on Sept. 30, 1974. What was anticipated to be a dry occasion shifted when Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald Ford, underwent a radical mastectomy Sept. 28.

It is no small task to fully rebuild the website of a publication that has 16,118 published articles.

We are shocked and horrified by the recent spate of violence and hate crimes against people of Asian and Pacific Islander  descent across the United States.In response to these events, The Cancer Letter is stepping up coverage of inequities and disparities—and we are seeking your help and guidance on an upcoming series of investigative stories.As a publication that actively advocates for racial justice and health equity, we condemn these attacks, which have led to deaths, severe injuries, and widespread fear in AAPI communities.

How diverse are the upper rungs of leadership at America’s academic cancer centers?

Women in oncology who face gender bias know what not to do: seek help from their institutions.

It is not a matter of editorial opinion to say these words: Black Lives Matter.

Nearly half a century ago, Jerry Dock Boyd started covering the opening shots of the War on Cancer.