UC Davis Cancer Center received $6.5 million from the National Cancer Institute to continue leading a nationwide effort aimed at reducing cancer in Asian Americans.

U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui announced the grant at a June 2005 press conference in the Cancer Center auditorium. "The cancer death rate among Asian Americans is rising faster than for any other ethnic group in the United States. We can prevent thousands of deaths if we can identify and overcome the barriers that prevent many Asian Americans from talking about cancer, getting screened for cancer and taking measures to protect themselves from cancer," Matsui said."

The new grant extends the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART) project, originally established in 2000, through 2010. Headquartered at UC Davis Cancer Center since 2002, the project unites cancer-control experts from the California Department of Health Services, UCSF, UCLA, University of Hawaii in Honolulu, University of Washington in Seattle, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The Sacramentobased Hmong Women's Heritage Association and the San Francisco Medical Society Foundation also participate in the project.