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Dear Cancer Center Colleagues,
Cancer centers are facing new challenges at every turn. Guided by your concerns, the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) has been speaking out against funding cuts and workforce reductions that are impeding cancer research. But we need to do more.
Through our Defending Cancer Research Digest, below, we hope to keep our members informed about what is happening at other cancer centers and around the country, and how we can mobilize our communities to act. With our accompanying social media campaign, we aim to educate people outside the cancer center network on the very real benefits of research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) – and on what all Americans stand to lose.
We hope you'll read through the stories collected here and share them widely on social media, through your institutions' communication channels, and in your communities. Please send us stories from your cancer centers and local media. We are especially seeking stories focused on patients, which resonate with legislators and the public. Thank you to the Public Affairs & Marketing Network for helping coordinate submissions, and to the cancer centers that submitted stories to our first digest.
If you haven’t already, please follow AACI on social media and tag us in your posts. Use our hashtag, #DefendingCancerResearch, to help amplify our messages. And please see AACI's latest Commentary and recent statements and press releases, under the Defending Cancer Research Digest.
AACI exists to connect our network of over 100 academic cancer centers through collaboration and communication. We believe there is strength in numbers, and, as we’ve said many times before, we’re better together.
Sincerely,
Jennifer W. Pegher
Executive Director
Association of American Cancer Institutes
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Amid Funding Concerns, Promising Lung Cancer Vaccines Could Be Available in Next Few Years
WTOP
Ongoing clinical trials to develop a lung cancer vaccine to treat or prevent the most deadly form of cancer in the U.S. could be available to patients in “the next few years,” [said] Dr. Stephen Liu, who works at Georgetown University’s cancer center. “I’m optimistic that in the next few years, we’ll see one that’s ready for patients,” Liu told WTOP, amid ongoing concerns about funding cuts and research priorities of the new Trump administration. Read More
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Federal Funding in Jeopardy for Hawai'i Cancer Research Programs
Island News
Susan Hirano is in the fight of her life, battling stage 4 breast cancer. After exhausting many different types of treatments, she's now considering a clinical trial that could save her life. "That's our hope right now," Hirano said. "So to have that cut, you're cutting our future." Read More
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Iowa Has High Cancer Rates. Trump's Cuts to CDC and NIH are Already Hitting the State
NPR-WCMU
[T]he Iowa Cancer Affiliate Network, which connects Mahaska Health [a 25-bed hospital in Oskaloosa] to a group of medical specialists, is funded by federal grants that face immediate, drastic cuts. Read More
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One on One: Dr. Mark Evers – Director of UK Markey Cancer Center
Lane Report
Lane Report: How do the NCI designations improve Markey’s situation in treating cancer? Is there more money for research? Is recruitment better? How significant are the NCI designations?
Mark Evers: Quite significant. It is considered the gold standard for academic cancer centers to be NCI designated. It’s a rigorous process. You submit the over 1,000-page application and on-site reviewers come from across the country who are cancer researchers, epidemiologists, etc. They spend the day making sure everything is within lines. It’s difficult and rigorous to become NCI-designated. But patients understand what the value is and that's a reason for a lot of our increase in volume. Read More
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MedPage Today
"Back in July, we received notification that we had met all the requirements for renewal and were being recommended for renewal by NCI, which is essentially the announcement of a successful renewal," [Steven Leach, MD, director of Dartmouth Cancer Center] said. "It has always been the case that the funding follows that notification." However, the center's formal funding ended on Dec. 1, he explained. While it's normal to have some delay in receiving the next funding notice—he should know, as Dartmouth has had this designation for nearly 50 years—the gap has never been this long before. Read More
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The Dartmouth
Scaling back research would also impact patients at [Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center], according to Dartmouth Cancer Center director Steven Leach. “At any given time, our cancer center, like all [NIH-funded] comprehensive cancer centers, have hundreds of clinical trials that are actively enrolling patients, providing them access to current state-of-the-art therapy but also promising future treatment options,” Leach said. “All of this is at risk with the proposed reductions of funding.” Read More
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University Times
Jeremy Berg says he’s never worked harder in his life. And that’s a big statement for someone who has been editor in chief of Science magazine; director of the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences; and founding director of Pittsburgh Institute for Precision Medicine. Read More
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‘Imminent Threat’: University of Utah Could Lose $43.5M for Research Expenses Under Trump Admin Cut
The Salt Lake Tribune
Just before the discussion started Tuesday, the U.’s renowned Huntsman Cancer Institute had announced groundbreaking research that found patients with endometrial cancer responded equally as well when radiation was done fewer times in higher doses — which could mean fewer hospital visits for those traveling long distances. Those researchers have received funding that would be scaled back under the new directive.Jeremy Berg says he’s never worked harder in his life. Read More
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The Urgent Need for Continued Innovation in Cancer Research: Patients Can’t Wait
By Loriana Hernández-Aldama
Disruptions to cancer research—whether due to political decisions, financial barriers, or shifting priorities—threaten to stall the progress we’ve made. But cancer doesn’t wait for funding debates to resolve. Patients need solutions now. Every minute, every day, every breakthrough matters. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health fuels innovation and keeps the momentum going, ensuring that new therapies move quickly from lab to clinic. Without this vital funding, patients are left in limbo, waiting for a breakthrough that may come too late. Read More
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About AACI
The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) represents over 100 premier academic and freestanding cancer centers in the United States and Canada. AACI is accelerating progress against cancer by enhancing the impact of academic cancer centers and promoting cancer health equity.
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PO Box 7317
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-647-6111
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