Welcome to the Cancer Diagnosis Program

The Cancer Diagnosis Program (CDP) strives to improve the diagnosis and assessment of cancer by effectively moving new scientific knowledge into clinical practice. This national program stimulates, coordinates and funds resources and research for the development of innovative in vitro diagnostics, novel diagnostic technologies and appropriate human specimens in order to better characterize cancers and allow improved medical decision making and evaluation of response to treatment.

Clinical Assay Development Program (CADP)

The CADP is designed to identify promising tests, assess the needs for further development, and provide services to facilitate optimization of analytical performance and to establish clinical validity so that the clinical utility of the assay can be evaluated in well-designed clinical studies. More…

Performance Standards Required for Essential Assays in Clinical Trials

Templates for Clinical Assay Development

Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures (SPECS)

The SPECS program consists of a group of grants that support multi-institutional, multidisciplinary research teams. The program leverages NCI's investment in cancer clinical trials, cancer centers, NCI intramural programs, and the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) program. The projects include collaborations with biotechnology companies, community hospitals, national laboratories, and academic institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. More…

Office of the Associate Director
Biorepository and Biospecimen Research Branch
Diagnostic Biomarkers and Technology Branch
Diagnostics Evaluation Branch
Pathology Investigation and Resources Branch