Our Research Programs
What does it take to outsmart cancer? Research. The American Cancer Society is the largest nonprofit funder of cancer research in the United States outside of the federal government. We've invested more than $5 billion in cancer research since 1946, all to find more – and better – treatments, uncover factors that may cause cancer, and improve cancer patients' quality of life.
ACS Research News and Highlights
50th American Cancer Society-Funded Researcher Awarded Nobel Prize
Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD, research chemist at Stanford University:
1993 Awarded ACS research grant
1997 Awarded 2nd ACS research grant
2000 Awarded 3rd ACS research grant
2000-2022 Mentored 8 ACS-funded researchers
2022 First woman funded by ACS to win a Nobel Prize
2023 Cancer Facts & Figures: Incidence for Cervical Cancer Drops But Rises for Prostate Cancer
Cancer Facts & Figures 2023 has published! The latest data shows improvements for cervical cancer are linked to HPV vaccine and downturns in prostate cancer are driven by advanced-stage disease.
2023 Special Section: Lung Cancer
This year's special section of 2023 Cancer Facts & Figures reviews lung cancer incidence, survival, mortality, risk factors, and screening prevalence with a focus on racial and geographic disparities. It is intended to inform anyone interested in learning more about lung cancer, including policy makers, researchers, clinicians, cancer control advocates, patients, and caregivers.
Finding Answers That Save Lives
We support the full realm of cancer research from basic science in the lab to translation of evidenced-based practices in cancer clinics. Some of the work we're best known for includes in-depth surveillance statistics, large studies with adults to learn about cancer prevention, and grants to support cancer researchers across the United States.
Facts & Figures Reports
Access all the Cancer Facts & Figures publications to learn about the cancer burden in the US for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Global cancer, and this year's estimated number of new cancer cases and deaths.
Cancer Prevention Studies-3 (CPS-3)
Learn about our ongoing prospective, longitudinal CPS-3: About the biospecimens we collect and analyze, the studies we publish, and how our volunteer participants are helping us move closer to a world without cancer.
Apply for a Research Grant
We use a rigorous and independent peer review process to select the most innovative research to fund. See our portfolio of grant mechanisms—for scientists early in their careers to those who've already made seminal contributions to the field of cancer research—and how to apply.
Currently Funded Cancer Research
No single nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization in the US has invested more to find the causes and cures of cancer than the American Cancer Society (ACS). This section outlines the current ACS substantial spending on research.
Explore Our Research Programs
Whether we're conducting research or funding it, our goal remains the same: to free the world from the pain and suffering from cancer.