On Dec. 23, 1971, the National Cancer Act enacted by President Richard Nixon as part of the nation’s war on cancer, established the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The National Cancer Act, “The War on Cancer,” gave the NCI unique autonomy at National Institutes of Health (NIH) with special budgetary authority. The annual budget of NCI, called the bypass budget, is submitted directly to the president, bypassing traditional approval by the NIH or the Department of HHS required of other NIH institutes.

Today, there are 69 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, located in 35 states and the District of Columbia, that form the backbone of NCI’s programs for studying and controlling cancer.