"The national investment in cancer research will be tragically squandered"

On Wednesday, in Research funding levels are only part of the story, I wrote about the need for a coordinated, multi-disciplinary research strategy for cancer, and cited the Myelin Repair Foundation as an example of this approach.Now CNN is reporting that a presidential commission has called for cancer research to be translated more quickly into clinical use. Recommendations include:

• Requiring the National Cancer Institute to require comprehensive cancer centers to disseminate research to local oncologists and other cancer organizations. (Note that the flow of information could also be increased by emphasizing publication in open access journals such as PLoS)
• Increase community-level clinical trials
• Improve levels of trust between subjects and researchers
• Have Medicare collect data on the stages of its cancer patients

According to the report, without faster translation of research into clinical results...

...the national investment in cancer research will be tragically squandered, for discoveries that do not lead to improved patient outcomes are tantamount to no discovery at all