The mission of the Rare Tumors Initiative is to better leverage existing NCI expertise in basic and clinical science studies of rare tumors to identify and more effectively translate potential new therapies.

The NCI Rare Tumor Initiative was launched in 2013 to foster closer collaborations between basic and clinical scientists, patient advocacy groups, and industry partners in the field of rare tumors to facilitate the development of therapeutic approaches. Knowledge gained from this initiative can also be applied to common cancers that have similar molecular alterations, and can be used to develop new approaches for precision medicine.

The overarching strategy is to take advantage of the talents of intramural investigators with expertise in genetics, genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, imaging, tumor models, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, biomarkers, and clinical trial development and execution.