ICYMI Sens. Coons and Moran in Scientific American: A $1 billion boost to the NCI will help us beat cancer

Op-Ed

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, published an op-ed in Scientific American calling for a robust, sustained investment in cancer research through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a research arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The lawmakers call on Congress to appropriate an additional $1 billion to NCI, where funding for cancer research has lagged behind other NIH programs and resulted in lower research output.

Scientific American: A $1 billion boost to the NCI will help us beat cancer

By Senators Chris Coons and Jerry Moran

… unfortunately, not all entities within the NIH have benefited equally from the recent budget increases, and the cancer research conducted via NCI funding is lagging behind. We believe a $1-billion boost this year and consistent increases going forward will allow the U.S. to remain the global scientific and economic leader in the development of cancer diagnostics and treatments that Americans will benefit from in the years ahead.

Because of the current funding lag, the NCI can only fund about one in eight meritorious research applications, leaving many potential cures for various cancers on the cutting-room floor and young cancer scientists unable to get the financial backing they need to pursue innovative ideas. This in turn means that fewer promising scientists will enter the field of cancer research and that others will leave, leading to a brain drain in the field…

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