Specialized Initiatives
Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program
This is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures, and the National Institutes of Health. The program is coordinated by NIAID, with the involvement of the National Cancer Institute. The Strategic Plan and Research Agenda is intended to unify and strengthen the radiation research community, promote increased collaboration, and facilitate transition from research to product development. NIH will work closely with HHS to prioritize the research and development activities in this ambitious agenda with the resources available and as one component of the larger national biodefense research agenda.
Beam characterization of the Brookhaven National Laboratory NSRL particle beam facility for radiobiological experiments
An experimental campaign on February 2019 with the aim to perform an additional, independent dosimetric characterization of the beams of protons, helium and carbon ions at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory facility for radiobiological experiments was undertaken by the request and with the support from the National Cancer Institute, US. In this initial phase, the goals were to obtain a first assessment of the stability and reproducibility of the ion beams, including analysis of spatial homogeneity and evaluation of ion beam contamination in order to facilitate the design of further experimental campaigns for characterization of the beam for radiobiological experiments. Measurements included reference dosimetry with comparison of in-house and external ionization chambers and electrometers, lateral dose profile measurements in air, depth dose profile in a water tank, evaluation of water equivalent thickness of a HDPE binary range shifter and estimation of impurities of the investigated charged particle beams. The experiments and results are presented.
NCI contact person:
Dr Ceferino Obcemea
Program Director, NCI/RRP/DCTD
obcemeach@nih.gov
(240) 276-5690
A Prospective Randomized Phase 3 Trial of Carbon Ion versus Conventional Radiation Therapy for Locally, Advanced, Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer
The overall objective of this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is to conduct a definitive randomized phase 3 clinical trial of carbon ion radiotherapy vs. 3D conformal radiation therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer. The clinically relevant outcomes of this trial shall also be indirectly compared to those of parallel trial, RTOG1201, carried out by NRG Oncology, a member organization of the NCI Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).
Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, 2nd Ed (PDF)
The Planning Guidance focuses on topics relevant to emergency planning within the first few days of nuclear detonation including: 1) shelter and evacuation, 2) medical care, and 3) population monitoring and decontamination. This guidance was developed by a Federal interagency committee led by the Executive Office of the President (National Security Staff and Office of Science and Technology Policy) with representatives from several federal U.S. Departments.
Quantitative Imaging for Response Assessment
Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN)
This network is one of several being conducted within the Cancer Imaging Program. It is designed to promote research and development of quantitative imaging methods for the measurement of tumor response to therapies in clinical trial settings, with the overall goal of facilitating clinical decision making. Projects include the appropriate development and adaptation/implementation of quantitative imaging methods, imaging protocols, and software solutions/tools (using existing commercial imaging platforms and instrumentation) and application of these methods in current and planned clinical therapy trials.
The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA)
The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) is provided by the Cancer Imaging Program (CIP) as a service to the research community. TCIA provides a freely accessible, open archive of cancer-specific medical images and metadata accessible for public download. A huge amount of clinical and research images are collected each year with many high value data sets already available.