Federal Research Funding

Funding for National Institutes of Health

Background

• There have been very few new brain tumor therapies in the last thirty years, BUT there is hope.
• Critical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is laying the groundwork for breakthroughs.
• The Cancer Genome Atlas discovered 4 new subtypes of glioblastoma in 2010 and that is leading to understanding how therapeutic combination therapies can extend life and quality of life.
• The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) cooperative clinical trials groups are doing some of the most cutting edge research on pediatric high-grade gliomas and adult glioblastoma therapy.
• NCI’s Neuro-oncology branch is a critical place for patients to seek cutting edge treatment advice.
• NIH’s work impacts the brain tumor community through many institutes including: the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Human Genome Research Institute, and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

The Problem

• Cuts to NIH in one year can set back brain tumor research for many years.
• Brain tumors are one of the most deadly forms of cancer and have among the fewest therapeutic options – thus research funding is absolutely critical to finding new ways to survive and improve quality of life.
• Private philanthropy cannot fill in for the key leadership role that NIH plays in funding, coordinating, and advancing research.

The Solution

Congress should maintain its historic bipartisan commitment to the fight against cancer including brain tumors by increasing NIH appropriations for FY 2015 to $32 billion, and increasing funding for the National Cancer Institute to $5.26 billion.