NCI plans, promotes, and carries out an ambitious program of disease-specific research, charting its course through advice from expert Progress Review Groups (PRGs). The PRGs are panels of 20 to 30 prominent members of the scientific, medical, and advocacy communities that assess the state of the science for a single type of cancer or group of closely related cancers and make recommendations for future research.

Over a nine-month period, each PRG identifies gaps in our understanding of the diseases under study, barriers to progress, and key research priorities. The process culminates in the release of PRG findings and priorities in a comprehensive report. PRG reports become road maps that guide NCI and the scientific community in their efforts to make progress against specific types of cancer.

NCI's extensive slate of PRGs includes breast, prostate, colorectal, brain, pancreatic, and lung cancers as well as groupings of cancers such as gynecologic cancers; leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma; kidney and bladder cancers; and stomach and esophageal cancers.

Visit Planning National Agendas for Disease-Specific Research to learn more about NCI's cancer-specific research planning.