In September 2004, the National Cancer Institute announced an initiative to bring new blood to an old and desperate fight. Called the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, the initiative will wager $144.3 million over the next 5 years that nanotechnology will open entirely new and effective strategies for diagnosing and treating cancer. It’s a well-funded sign that expectations for nanotech solutions to cancer extend to the highest governmental levels, and it comes at a time when the battle against the disease seems to be at a standstill. Unlike death rates for heart disease and stroke, which have declined drastically, cancer mortality hasn’t changed since the 1950s.
“We are looking at new technologies to help change that situation,” says Piotr Grodzinski, director of the cancer-nanotechnology program at NCI.