Support for the Human Cancer Genome Project.

IN“ANOPENLETTERTOCANCERRESEARCHERS” (Letters, 21 Oct., p. 439), S. J. Elledge and G. J. Hannon questioned the wisdom of asking the NIH to undertake the Human Cancer Genome Project (HCGP) (1) recently proposed by a National Cancer Institute Working Group, of which we were members. Elledge and Hannon object to the HCGP on the grounds that the project is unlikely to achieve its goals, that the expenditures would decrease funding available for investigator-initiated projects, and that the funds could be better used to support other work, such as genetic screens for factors required for the growth and survival of cancer cells. Although we welcome debate about the Working Group’s proposal and do not dispute the value of genetic screens, the Letter misrepresents the HCGP. First, it undervalues the goal of the project, which is to provide as thorough an account as currently possible, now that the human genome has