The process of developing cancer treatments, diagnostics and interventions can easily take 15 years or more:
* Ideas turn into lab experiments
* Lab experiments are moved to animals
* … and then to early research with people
* Good results mean large late-phase trials with large numbers of participants
The jump from lab experiments to large clinical trials is called TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH –and without translational research, promising ideas may be stuck in labs and test tubes instead of moving to patients.
NCI’s SPORE program [Specialized Programs of Research Excellence](http://spores.nci.nih.gov/index.html) funds translational research. SPORE research has resulted in 210 clinical interventions for patients in the last 13 years, a remarkable record.
The SPORE program is being reviewed by NCI, and significant changes are proposed. There is concern about the changes in many quarters, [including Congress](http://www.c-three.org/pdf/lettertohhs.pdf) and [SPORE advocates](http://www.sporeadvocates.net/content/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=2).
C3 urges NCI to be sure that changes are made thoughtfully in the context of scientific merit. [You can send the same message by asking your Congressional member to sign onto the Shaw-Harman letter before October 9. Click here to take action!](http://www.kintera.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=cgKJLROyEpH&b=437949)
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