The New York State Department of Health, Cancer Control Bureau, is continuing in its effort to develop a concentration of studies on selected major cancer sites and through the use of the State Registry, a continuous surveillance and investigation of unusual occurrences for most types of cancer. The lymphomas continue as a major focus. The observed high incidence of colon cancer in a small upstate city is under detailed investigation, and other studies of colon cancer are planned. Several studies in the early phases of planning or pilot testing relate to environmental exposures, particularly to nitrosamines, asbestos and asbestos substitutes. Included are studies of brain, primary liver and mesothelial tumors. Several studies of breast cancer are in progress, with an ultimate aim of segregating the relative importance of environmental and genetic factors and learning more about these factors.