NAS Appoints 17 Members to National Cancer Policy Board

Extract

The National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine has appointed 15 additional members to its new National Cancer Policy Board. The board's chairand vice-chair had been announced earlier (see News , Jan. 1, 1997).

The NAS announcement said that the appointees “provide a balanced, highly expert group that can help advise the nation about how to deal with cancer. They span a full range from survivors and consumers to providers. Their research backgrounds include health services, prevention and control, clinical investigation, and molecular and cellular biology.”

NAS's statement also noted that it had left vacancies on the board, which will have no more than 20 members, so that subsequent appointments can fill gaps that become apparent as the board defines its agenda.

The board will meet three times a year to “confront obstacles and address issues” in cancer prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment. It will examine implications of ongoing research and new technologies, of issues in prevention and care delivery, and of problems “faced in the nation's battle against cancer,” and then render advice and recommendations.