Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), recently announced the appointments of two new deputy directors within his office and the appointment of the director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD), a position without a permanent leader since 2001.

Karen H. Antman, M.D., who will officially assume her position on April 18, 2004, will offer strategic scientific direction as deputy director for Translational and Clinical Science. Mark S. Clanton, M.D., M.P.H., the deputy director for Cancer Care Delivery Systems, is providing strategic leadership in health care system design. James H. Doroshow, M.D., F.A.C.P., in addition to his role as director of DCTD, is leading the NCI Clinical Trials Working Group.

"We are fortunate to have these new leaders and visionaries at NCI," said von Eschenbach. He recently reorganized his office to establish four deputy director positions to help organize and orchestrate the entire NCI portfolio across "the realm of the discovery, development, and delivery continuum."

In her new role, Antman will direct a national, cross-cutting research program that includes the NCI-designated Cancer Centers Program, the disease-oriented Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, and other translational programs aimed toward meeting the 2015 goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer. Antman was previously director of the Columbia University Comprehensive Cancer Center and chief of the University's Division of Medical Oncology. She recently co-chaired the Sarcoma Progress Review Group, which made recommendations to NCI for advancing diagnosis and treatment of these tumors.

Clanton, former president-elect of the American Cancer Society, brings expertise in managed care, health plan administration, and public health to his role of expanding, increasing, and enhancing the NCI research portfolio to improve evidence-based cancer care delivery. Clanton will coordinate health economics, clinical effectiveness, and cancer patient outcomes research to maximize NCI's ability to influence the delivery of care to people with cancer, particularly those most affected by health disparities. Previously, Clanton served as chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Doroshow — newly arrived from his 20-year position at the City of Hope in Los Angeles, where he served both as chairman of the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research and as associate director for clinical research at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center-is recognized internationally for productivity and leadership in the field of cancer therapy. Under his direction, the NCI Clinical Trials Working Group will develop new paradigms to re-direct the clinical trials infrastructure from the traditional single — agent safety, efficacy, comparison process to one of multiple interventions using innovative study designs, end-point determinations, enhanced public-private partnerships, and a shared bioinformatics platform.

Anna Barker, Ph.D., formerly NCI deputy director for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, assumed her new role as deputy director for Advanced Technologies and Strategic Partnerships in February. The deputy director position for Integrative Biology and Molecular Oncology is still in the process of being filled.

For more information about cancer, visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).