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Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

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Cancer Diagnosis Research

Cancer diagnosis research is the study of the detection and assessment of cancer to improve the accuracy and speed of cancer diagnosis. People with cancer and their health providers use information from diagnostic tools such as laboratory tests and imaging studies, to make cancer care decisions.

Cancer diagnosis research may involve:

  • Characterization of prognostic indicators that can help predict the way a cancer will behave and how it will affect a patient
  • Identification of molecular markers that can predict the likelihood that a particular treatment will be effective.
  • Evaluation of in vitro diagnostics tools for use in research lab and clinical lab settings.
  • Clinical validation of diagnostic, prognostic, and/or predictive tools and methods.

Cancer diagnosis research is important because it provides information to help classify cancers, which can provide insight into likely outcomes and inform treatment decisions. Molecular markers are often useful to identify potential targets for cancer therapies.

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