National Cancer Center ("NCC" or "Center"), founded in 1953, is a (501)(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in the United States that funds young cancer researchers who are working to discover how the body's immune system sees and responds to cancer when it initially develops and why certain cancer cells are resistant to different treatments. The organization also provides educational information to the public on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Grants are awarded based on the recommendations of NCC's Scientific Advisory Board, which uses

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

evaluation standards. Scientific Advisory Board members are cancer research professionals, headed by Dr. Darell Bigner, founder and director of Duke University’s Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, the largest brain tumor research facility in the country. Other Grant Review Committee members represent such institutions as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the

University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center (Hillman), previously titled the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center located in the Hillman Cancer Center in the Shadyside n ...

and Duke University Medical Center. The Center's funding of basic research epitomizes the high standards of founder Dr. James Ernest Ayre. Dr. James Ernest Ayre was a ground-breaking gynecologist dedicated to cancer research by ways of immunology and cytology detection. He was the co-inventor of the

Ayre spatula The Ayre spatula is a device used to collect Pap smear. It is a wooden spatula with U shaped openings on one side and a flat surface on another. The broad end is for vaginal sample collection and the narrow end is for cervical sample collection. It ...

, a wooden device used to collect cervical cells in women to detect cancer, and a strong advocate for early cancer screening. The National Cancer Center funds these research programs: The Breast Cancer Project, The Children’s Cancer Project, Aggressive Cancer Research, Fighting Childhood Leukemia, and The Prostate Cancer Project.

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Medical and health organizations based in the United States {{US-health-org-stub