The Acquired Resistance to Therapy Network (ARTNet Website; RFA-CA-21-052, RFA-CA-21-053), was funded in 2022. The ARTNet focuses on the mechanisms of acquired resistance to cancer therapies and disease recurrence and on integrating those findings through team science. ARTNet also aims to provide evidence along the shared tumor-tumor microenvironment (TME) continuum to inform new strategies that can be better translated into future clinical trials. This new program builds and expands on the progress of the Drug Resistance and Sensitivity Network (DRSN).
NCI convened the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) in 2016 to provide recommendations for achieving the Cancer Moonshot's ambitious goal of making a decade's worth of progress in cancer research in 5 years, now called the Cancer MoonshotSM Initiative. The BRP was charged with assessing the state of the science in specific areas and identifying major research opportunities that could uniquely benefit from the support of the Cancer Moonshot and could lead to significant advances in our understanding of cancer and in how to intervene in its initiation and progression. The BRP final report was approved by the National Cancer Advisory Board.
The DRSN launched via the Cancer Moonshot Initiative focused on understanding traditional pathways and mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer, thus addressing the recommendation in the BRP final report for developing ways to overcome cancer’s resistance to therapy. The 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law in December 2016 dedicating new funds to support efforts associated with the Cancer MoonshotSM Initiative, including support for both the networks.
