As part of a broad restructuring plan, the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has developed a national forum to identify new clinical research opportunities in major cancers. These semiannual State of the Science meetings were conceived as a way to stimulate and accelerate the development of new clinical interventions, from the earliest testing through definitive clinical trials.

The objectives of each meeting are to identify promising approaches and opportunities applicable to clinical research in specific cancers and to highlight potentially promising avenues that require further development, thereby stimulating investigators to work independently on the steps necessary to move novel therapeutic approaches along the path towards eventual phase III trials.

The NCI Cooperative Groups were asked to organize a State of the Science meeting in Gastric Cancer to be held early in 2001. Representatives of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG), the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACSOG), the comprehensive cancer centers, and the NCI met to design the program.

The purpose of this website is to disseminate the results of these SOTS meetings widely to the scientific community, both nationally and internationally, as well as to the interested public. This site will address the Gastric cancer SOTS. On this site you will be able to view transcripts and slides of the presentations from the meeting. You can also listen to an audiotape of the presentations while viewing the slides.