1903

Radium found effective in treatment of tumors (Marie and Pierre Curie isolated radium in 1898).

1907

American Association for Cancer Research founded.

1911

Peyton Rous discovers a virus that causes cancer in chickens.

1912

Cancer cells are grown in the laboratory, the first long-term "tissue culture."

1913

Publication of first known article on cancer's warning signs in a popular women's magazine (Ladies' Home Journal).

Formation of a nationwide organization dedicated to public education on cancer (the American Society for the Control of Cancer, which later became the American Cancer Society).

1915

Coal tar gives rabbits cancer in experimental proof of carcinogenesis. The theory that chemicals had cancer-causing potential began with observations more than a century earlier of the high rate of cancer among chimney sweeps.

1922

Public Health Service opens a Special Cancer Investigations Laboratory at Harvard Medical School.

1928

George Papanicolaou finds vaginal cell smears (the Pap smear) reveal cancer presence.

1930

The National Institute of Health is established by the Ransdell Act.

1937

Legislation signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Cancer Institute to support research relating to the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

1940

The first issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published.

1941

Charles Huggins uses synthetic hormone to treat prostate cancer.

1943

The Pap smear is introduced into medical practice.

1944

DNA is found by Oswald T. Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty to be the basic cell material.

1947

Sidney Farber finds that a folic acid derivative inhibits acute leukemia. This first anti-metabolite leads to a category of drugs that interfere with cell processes because they share structural similarities with a compound required in normal cell activity.

1948

George Hitchings synthesizes 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), an antimetabolite, to combat childhood leukemia.

1949

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves nitrogen mustard (methchlorethanine), a drug that interacts with DNA chemically to kill cancer cells (alkylating agent).

1950

Ernst Wynder, Evarts Graham, and Sir Richard Doll confirm cigarette smoking-cancer link.

1952

DNA found to be genetic material in some viruses.

1953

James Watson and Francis Crick discover the structure of DNA.

FDA approves methotrexate, an anti-metabolite derived from folic acid, and 6-mercaptopurine as anti-cancer drugs.

1955

National Chemotherapy Program begins.

Roy Hertz and Min Chiu Li achieve total cure of a human solid tumor, choriocarcinoma.

1957

Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann discover interferon, a virus fighter.

Charles Heidelberger introduces 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a new type of anti-cancer drug that resulted from rational design.

1959

Cyclophosphamide, an alkylating agent designed to improve the selectivity of cancer drugs, approved by FDA.

1960

Chromosome abnormality associated with leukemias.

1961

Marshal Nirenberg and others prove triplet code governs DNA action.

FDA approves vinblastine, a drug that binds to tubulin, a protein in the fiber-like structures called microtubules that play a key role in the life cycle of cells. The drug is derived from the ornamental shrub, Vinca rosea.

1962

The Royal College of Physicians issues report on smoking and health.

FDA approves 5-FU as an anti-cancer drug.

1963

FDA approves vincristine, a sister drug to vinblastine.

1964

The U.S. Surgeon General issues Report on Smoking and Health.

A virus (the Epstein-Barr virus) is linked to human cancer for the first time.

American Society of Clinical Oncology established.

Melphalan (L-PAM) is approved by FDA for marketing.

1966

NCI standardizes testing of cancer-causing chemicals.

1969

Robert Heubner and George Todaro propose the oncogene hypothesis.

1970s

Established that proto-oncogenes play important roles in normal cellular control.

Cytochrome P450 enzyme system shown to activate many carcinogens.

1970

Howard Temin and David Baltimore discover reverse transcriptase enzyme.

Restriction enzymes and reverse transcriptase are keys to gene engineering.

1971

President Richard M. Nixon converted the Army's former biological warfare facilities at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, to house research activities on the causes, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Prevalence of adult cigarette smoking 37 percent.

Cisplatin, a heavy metal compound with unique biologic effects, enters clinical trials.

President Nixon signs the National Cancer Act of 1971 on December 23.

1973

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program established.

Recombinant DNA techniques developed for cloning genes.

Computed tomography (CT) introduced in the United States.

Certification in medical oncology and gynecologic oncology first offered.

1974

FDA approves doxorubicin, an anti-tumor antibiotic from Streptomyces bacteria.

CANCERLINE, a national database of published cancer research established.

Recombinant DNA techniques developed for cloning genes (mid-1970s).

1975

Hybridoma technology developed for production of monoclonal antibodies.

Southern blot technique developed to identify DNA fragments.

Methods developed to sequence DNA fragments.

Positron emission tomography (PET) developed (mid-1970s).

Society for Surgical Oncology and Oncology Nursing Society established.

1976

First of some 50 now known human proto-oncogenes discovered (src).

Interleukin-2 discovered.

Cancer Information Service (1-800-4-CANCER) opened.

1977

First national cancer patient education program (I Can Cope) founded.

Limb-sparing surgeries developed for sarcomas of the extremities (late 1970s).

1978

First human testing of a biological therapy (alpha-interferon).

Tamoxifen approved by FDA for marketing as a treatment drug.

Metastatic cells shown to arise from pre-existing subpopulations in primary tumors.

FDA approves cisplatin, a powerful anti-cancer drug.

1979

Most frequently mutated gene in human cancer, p53, discovered.

Modified radical mastectomy replaces radical mastectomy for breast cancer.

Statistical methods developed to control simultaneously for several factors in the analysis of studies and to quantify cancer risks (1970s and 1980s).

Studies in human populations link cancer risk to infectious agents, such as human papillomavirus (cervical cancer) and hepatitis B (liver cancer) (1970s and 1980s).

Studies clarify the patterns of cancer risk following exposure to ionizing radiation (1970s and 1980s).

Studies link cancer risks to hormonal drugs, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES) taken during pregnancy and hormonal replacement therapy (1970s and 1980s).

Statistical genetic techniques developed to define modes of inheritance, localize genes, and evaluate gene-environment interactions in cancer risk (1970s through 1990s).

Precursors to cancer, such as "dysplastic nevi" as precursors to melanoma, linked to several forms of cancer (late 1970s and early 1980s).

1980s

First highly effective anti-nausea drugs developed to alleviate side effects of chemotherapy.

Continuous pain medication infusion pumps developed.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy developed to help find and remove precancerous growths.

Biochemical and genetic assays integrated into epidemiologic studies (molecular epidemiology).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) introduced (early 1980s).

1981

First human viral vaccine that can prevent cancer (hepatitis B virus vaccine for liver cancer) introduced.

1982

First major DNA sequence databases established in the United States (GenBank) and Germany.

1983

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique used in cancer research.

NCI's Physician Data Query (PDQ) database goes online.

1984

Dietary guidelines to reduce cancer developed.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice developed (mid-1980s).

Polymerase chain reaction technique (PCR) developed (mid-1980s).

1985

Lumpectomy plus radiation found equivalent to mastectomy for breast cancer.

1986

First of some 20 now-known tumor suppressor genes cloned (Rb).

Nerve-sparing prostatectomy, designed to preserve potency and urinary continence, introduced.

1988

Adjuvant chemotherapy proven to increase disease-free survival in early breast cancer.

The Bethesda System Conference developed system for standardized reporting of Pap smear results.

1989

Adjuvant chemotherapy proven to increase survival in colon cancer.

Human Gene Mapping database established.

Carboplatin, a drug derived from cisplatin, is approved by FDA.

Certification in radiation oncology first offered.

1990s

After increasing steadily for decades, overall cancer death rates in the United States stabilized in the early 1990s and began to decrease in 1994, a trend that continues today.

The transition from film-based radiology to digital computer-assisted medical imaging begins.

The multi-step nature of carcinogenesis is proven. That is, more than one gene mutation is required for a cell to become cancerous.

The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, allowing researchers to study gene copy number and chromosomal location inside cells, is developed.

Several common genetic variants are linked to the risk of lung and other cancers.

1990

Results from the first chemoprevention trial to show efficacy (vitamin A analogue against mouth and throat tumors) are reported.

1991

The first human gene therapy for cancer (melanoma) is attempted.

Post-operative (adjuvant) radiation therapy and chemotherapy are found to improve survival in rectal cancer.

Two white blood cell colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF and GM-CSF) are approved to fight the neutropenia caused by cancer treatment.

1992

The Mammography Quality Standards Act is passed.

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Found in the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, this drug acts to stabilize fiber-like structures called microtubules that play a key role in the cell division cycle.

1993

The first gene associated with hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) is cloned (hMSH2). People with HNPCC are at increased risk of developing colon cancer.

The prevalence of U.S. adult smoking is 25 percent.

NCI-sponsored studies in China show the importance of nutrition in preventing cancer.

Annual guaiac fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) is shown to reduce colorectal cancer deaths by one-third.

The largest early detection study ever conducted, the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, begins recruiting 148,000 volunteers.

1994

BRCA1 is the first breast cancer-associated gene cloned.

The Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study finds no benefit from the use of beta-carotene supplements in smokers and a possible increased risk of lung cancer.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), a causative agent for Kaposi's sarcoma, is identified. HHV-8, also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, is later linked to primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman disease.

1995

The BRCA2 gene is cloned.

The FDA approves tretinoin, a differentiating agent related to vitamin A, for use in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Tretinoin is also known as all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA).

Porfimer sodium, a light-sensitive drug that can be absorbed by tumors, is approved by the FDA, permitting photodynamic therapy of some types of cancer.

Information in NCI's Physician Data Query (PDQ) database becomes available on the World Wide Web via the NCI Web site CancerNet.

1996

Topotecan (Hycamptin), the first of a class of drugs that interferes with the enzyme topoisomerase I, is approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic ovarian cancer. Topoisomerases uncoil DNA during DNA replication, and altering the work of this enzyme leads to tumor cell death. Topotecan is derived from the bark of a Chinese tree known as Camptotheca acuminata.

The FDA approves another topoisomerase 1 inhibitor - irinotecan (Camptosar) - for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Two major studies of beta carotene supplements (The Physicians' Health Study and the Beta-Carotene Retinol Efficacy Trial) show no cancer prevention benefit.

1997

The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP), a multi-year project to assemble the first index of genes involved in cancer, is launched.

The first biotechnology product approved by the FDA to treat patients with cancer - a monoclonal antibody called rituximab (Rituxan) - is used to treat a type of lymphoma.

NCI and Chinese scientists find that occupational exposure to benzene is associated with increased risks of developing acute non-lymphocytic leukemia and related myelodysplastic syndromes and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The National Cancer Advisory Board recommends that NCI should advise all women age 40 years and older to receive screening mammograms every one to two years.

1998

Results from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial show that the incidence of breast cancer among women who are at increased risk of the disease can be reduced by 50 percent with the drug tamoxifen. The FDA subsequently approves tamoxifen for the prevention of breast cancer.

Trastuzumab (Herceptin), a monoclonal antibody that targets cancer cells that overproduce the protein HER2, is approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. HER2 is overproduced in the tumors of approximately 25 percent to 30 percent of women with advanced disease.

The prevalence of U.S. adult smoking is 24.1 percent.

1999 

The Hybrid Capture II human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test is approved by the FDA as a test that can be used in conjunction with the Pap smear in screening for cervical cancer.

2000

Researchers discover the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, is actually two distinct diseases, thus explaining why only 40 percent of patients with NHL can be cured by chemotherapy.

NCI establishes the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities as part of a major national commitment to identify and address the underlying causes of disease and disability in racial and ethnic communities.

2001

The drug imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is shown to be effective against chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Imatinib mesylate is the first anticancer drug developed specifically to target the molecular defect that causes a particular type of cancer.

The largest-ever prostate cancer prevention study, the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), is launched. SELECT will determine whether these two dietary supplements can protect against prostate cancer.

2002

NCI launches the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) to determine whether spiral computed tomography is better than single-view chest x-ray in reducing deaths among current and former heavy smokers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) publishes a monograph on tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking (second-hand smoke) that classifies second-hand smoke as carcinogenic to humans.

2003

Two randomized controlled trials show that taking aspirin daily for as little as three years reduces the development of colorectal polyps by 19 percent to 35 percent in individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer.

Results from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) show that men taking finasteride had 25 percent fewer diagnoses of prostate cancer than men taking a placebo, proving that prostate cancer can be prevented.

An NCI-supported international clinical trial finds that postmenopausal women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer who took the drug letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, after completing an initial five years of adjuvant therapy with tamoxifen had a significantly reduced risk of cancer recurrence compared to women taking a placebo.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the drug bortezomib (Velcade) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Bortezomib represents a new class of targeted agents that inhibit proteasomes, structures inside cells that degrade proteins.

2004

Letrozole is approved by the FDA for the adjuvant treatment of early-stage breast cancer after five years of tamoxifen therapy.

NCI collaborates with the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines.

Palifermin (Kepivance) is approved by the FDA to decrease the incidence and duration of severe oral mucositis in patients with hematologic malignancies who receive high doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by stem cell rescue.

Data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study show that women who take estrogen in combination with the hormone progestin have a greater risk of developing breast cancer than women who take estrogen alone and that estrogen-alone hormone replacement therapy has no overall benefit in disease prevention, specifically on the risks of breast and colorectal cancer.

The monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) is approved by the FDA for use with other drugs in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Bevacizumab targets a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor, which stimulates the growth of new blood vessels to tumors (a process called tumor angiogenesis).

The monoclonal antibody cetuximab (Erbitux) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Cetuximab targets a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor, which is overexpressed in some cancers.

The FDA approves oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) for use in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.

The prevalence of U.S. adult smoking declines to 20.9 percent.

2005

Preliminary results from the Digital vs. Film Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) show no difference in breast cancer detection in the general population of women who participated in the study. However, women with dense breasts who are pre- or perimenopausal or women who are younger than age 50 may benefit from having a digital rather than a film mammogram.

Results from two, large, NCI-sponsored randomized clinical trials show that patients with early-stage, HER2-positive, invasive breast cancer who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) in combination with chemotherapy experienced a significant decrease in their risk of cancer recurrence in comparison with patients who received the same chemotherapy without trastuzumab.

NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute announce the launch of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Project, which, in its initial phase, will systematically explore the genomic changes in lung, brain (glioblastoma), and ovarian cancer.

The FDA approves an albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation of paclitaxel (Abraxane) for use in the treatment of metastatic or recurrent breast cancer.

The prevalence of U.S. adult smoking holds steady at 20.9 percent, the first time in nearly a decade that the percentage failed to decline from one year to the next.

2006

Initial results from the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) show that the drug raloxifene reduces the incidence of invasive breast cancer to the same extent (approximately 50 percent) as tamoxifen, but it appears less likely to cause some of the potentially dangerous side effects found with tamoxifen.

The FDA approves the vaccine Gardasil, which protects against persistent infection by the two types of HPV that cause approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers worldwide. NCI scientists developed the underlying technology used to make this vaccine.

The U.S. Surgeon General releases a report on the harmful health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke (second-hand smoke).

The FDA approves trastuzumab (Herceptin) for use with other drugs in the adjuvant treatment of women with early-stage, node-positive, HER2-overexpressing breast cancer.