Rapid discoveries in basic cancer biology, fueled largely by the understanding of the human genome, have sparked much interest in cancer genetics, molecular and cell biology and new techniques within these fields.In parallel to this process, however, has come a greater appreciation of the seemingly inordinate length of time and the enormous barriers that exist between promising new discoveries and their application to clinical oncology and public health.A new field of translational science has become popular as a way to focus on shortening this timeline and making it more likely that new knowledge will become better medicine.