NCI Releases FY 2026 Annual Plan and New Clinical and Translational Data Resource

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently announced two new resources for cancer researchers.

The first, the NCI Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Annual Plan & Professional Judgment Budget Proposal: Leading Progress Against Cancer, presents NCI’s assessment of the optimal funding needed to fully capitalize on scientific opportunities and advance cancer research. The annual plan highlights four areas of opportunity: Tackling the Emergence of Early-Onset Cancers in Young Adults, Approaching Cancer as a Disease that Affects the Entire Body, Alleviating Financial Toxicity for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers and Expanding the Utility of Cancer-Targeting Vaccines.

The second resource is the NCI Cancer Research Data Commons’ (CRDC) new Clinical and Translational Data Commons (CTDC). Designed to enhance access to clinical and translational data from NCI-funded initiatives, the CTDC is a pivotal resource in accelerating cancer discovery. The goals of the CTDC are to advance cancer research and accelerate the development of innovative therapies by improving access to data from NCI-sponsored clinical studies, including genomic panel assay and clinical data. The CTDC’s inaugural data set comes from the Cancer Moonshot℠ Biobank (CMB), a study collecting clinical data and biospecimens shared by participants throughout their standard of care treatments at participating US medical institutions.

Key features of the CTDC include:

• Interactive search tools: Dive into CTDC data using customizable search filters and dynamic visualizations to streamline cohort building and data exploration.
• Integrated cloud workflow: Connect seamlessly to the Seven Bridges Cancer Genomic Cloud (SB-CGC) for efficient and secure data analysis, reducing the need to manage large datasets locally.
• Stringent data security: Data is available via public, registered and controlled access tiers. Access to controlled and registered tier data includes robust security protocols to ensure that this data is protected and accessible only to authorized researchers.

NCI will host a live demonstration of CTDC’s capabilities in the September data science seminar series Sept. 25 at 11am ET.

For more information, contact Katie Grady, American College of Radiology® Government Affairs Director.