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The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) connects over 100 academic cancer centers through collaboration and communication. There is strength in numbers and we are better together.
Through the Defending Cancer Research Digest, AACI is keeping members informed about what is happening at other cancer centers and around the country. We also aim to educate the public on the tangible benefits of research funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute and to mobilize them to speak out on what all Americans stand to lose.
Please read through the stories collected here and share them widely on social media, through your institutions' communication channels, and in your communities. And continue to send us stories from your cancer centers and local media. Stories focused on patients especially resonate with legislators and the public.
Follow AACI on social media and tag us in your posts. Use our hashtag, #DefendingCancerResearch, to help amplify our messages.
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Larisa Nonn, PhD, is associate director, Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC), the University of Illinois Cancer Center, and Jan Kitajewski, PhD, is director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center. | | |
The Impacts of NIH Cuts and Uncertainty on Cancer Research Trainees
AACI Commentary
Cancer centers across America catalyze our nation’s preeminence in biomedical research through workforce training and development. Research leaders in these centers invite the best and the brightest to join their labs and, in turn, position these trainees to build a future with better health and a strong economy.
Uncertainties in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the abrupt termination of several NIH-supported institutional biomedical training programs have profoundly affected cancer trainees at all levels. Read More
| | | | DEFENDING CANCER RESEARCH DIGEST | | |
National Cancer Registrars Association Launches Campaign to Protect U.S. Cancer Registries
The Cancer Letter
The campaign calls on elected officials to ensure cancer surveillance functions are adequately funded—including NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program and CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries—and restore external communication to CDC and NIH. Read More
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AAMC
Of the 777 terminated grants, 32% (n = 245) were R01 grants, which support independent research projects, representing nearly $250 million in lost funding. An additional 8% (n = 63) were F31 grants — research training and career development grants awarded to graduate students to provide mentored research support — totaling $1.2 million in lost funding. Read More
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Death Rate From Cancer Has Steadily Fallen in the U.S., Report Shows
ScienceAlert
From 2018 to 2022 (not counting data from 2020), the report shows new cancer cases largely plateaued for males and increased by 0.3 percent for females year on year. At the same time, cancer death rates decreased by an average of 1.7 percent per year for males and an average of 1.3 percent per year for females. Read More
| | “For generations, the U.S. has prioritized biomedical research, trained the next generation of scientists, and accelerated the pace of disease-curing discoveries,” Dr. Sleckman said. | | |
Cullman Cancer Survivor, UAB Official Stress the Need for 'Critical' Research Funding
Alabama Daily News
The director of UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Barry Sleckman, was in Washington on April 30 to testify on the importance of federal funding for biomedical research during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. Read More
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'We Have Everything on the Line Right Now,' Colorado Families With Complex Medical Needs Worry as Federal Research Cuts Loom
Colorado Public Radio
At a recent rally in Denver to protest the Trump administration, handmade signs vocalized worries for veterans, the elderly, immigrants, and other groups potentially affected by the president’s policies.
Standing in the crowd, Ben Wilson had chosen the message "Hands Off Medical Research" for his placard.
"I have a son that has a very rare genetic condition where only 300 people in the world have it," said Wilson. "This administration, with cutting off medical research, is really affecting my son's ability for them to find cures for it." Read More
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I’m an Oncologist. Trump’s Cuts Will Devastate Cancer Research
MSNBC
My daily work as an oncologist is often sobering and difficult. From diagnosis to treatment, cancer journeys can be fraught with uncertainty and emotional turmoil. But I find hope through the steely resolve of my patients and in the boundless promise of ongoing cancer research.
While my patients remain as intrepid as ever, this vital research now stands to be choked off by the Trump administration’s budget cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including termination of existing grants at universities and mass layoffs. The White House went even further in its budget proposal released Friday, calling for NIH's funding to be cut from $48 billion to $27 billion.
The author, Jalal Baig, MD, is a community oncologist with UChicago Medicine. Read More
| | From left, David Higdon, with his children Luke and Ashley, and wife Tonya, enjoys a family trip to Scotland — one of many destinations he’s visited since creating a bucket list following his brain cancer diagnosis in 2013. Photo provided.n | | |
Ky. Attorney Defies Brain Cancer Odds Through Markey Clinical Trial Survivor
University of Kentucky
Following surgery, David Higdon was offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial that would add a chemotherapy drug called temozolomide to his treatment regimen.
The Phase III trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, sought to determine if the combination therapy would be more effective than radiation alone.
...Today, more than 10 years after Higdon’s diagnosis, the cancer has not returned. Read More
| | Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Jessica Gallagher/The Baltimore Banner) | | |
Hopkins Trailblazer Scrambles to Protect Cancer Research as Trump Cuts Hit Home
The Baltimore Banner
At the time, Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee didn’t worry much.
The world-class pancreatic cancer researcher at the Johns Hopkins University had been through plenty over the years as she marshaled her team against a disease that kills almost everyone who gets it.
So in January, when she heard that President Donald Trump paused biomedical grantmaking, Jaffee thought the new administration was just gaining its footing. The directives, however, kept coming.
And soon, one hit home on the fourth floor of her Hopkins building in East Baltimore. Read More
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How Clinical Trials Move Cancer Research Forward
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Insight
The FDA approved 15 completely new cancer medicines in 2024 and 13 in 2023. Before a medicine or combination therapy is approved by the FDA, it is not available to patients outside of a clinical trial. Read More
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Tracking Federal Changes - Michigan Research
University of Michigan
In this issue, we showcase how University of Michigan’s federally funded research is transforming healthcare and driving economic growth. From groundbreaking collaborative approaches to pancreatic cancer to revolutionary treatments for osteoporosis and brain tumors, these stories demonstrate how sustained federal investment creates both scientific breakthroughs and economic vitality across Michigan. Read More
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Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty, Cancer Center Leaders Forge Ahead
Becker's Hospital Review
“In some ways, this current moment doesn’t feel that different from our experiences during COVID-19. Many of the same themes of dynamic circumstances, funding and budget challenges, skepticism toward science and general uncertainty, that were true then are true right now,” Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center President, Thomas Lynch, MD, told Becker’s. “What does feel different is the pace and volume of healthcare policy changes being suggested and their direct impact on cancer research and care.” Read More
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Since the passage of the National Cancer Act in 1971, Congress has demonstrated unwavering bipartisan support for cancer research. Americans have seen significant returns on these investments, including a reduction in deaths from cancer by 34 percent over the past 30 years. But the Fiscal Year 2026 federal budget proposal could erase decades of progress with the stroke of a pen.
The proposed budget would slash funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by over 40 percent – from $47 billion to $26.7 billion. Continued reductions in force and the termination of numerous grants and contracts also threaten the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Cancer Centers Program, which have driven major advances in cancer screening, prevention, and treatment for over 50 years. These cuts will have disastrous consequences for the future of biomedical research, and for patients with cancer.
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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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