There are several effective strategies to reduce the burden of cancer, each playing a unique but complementary role in the fight against one of the world’s leading causes of death.
From high-profile breakthroughs in treatment like immunotherapy and precision medicine to prevention and early detection, research funded by the NIH and the National Cancer Institute have been reducing the burden of cancer through prevention and treatment.
Public funding for biomedical and public health research—especially through the NIH and its daughter agency, the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—has been a cornerstone of this progress.
Kennedy’s Defunding of Public Cancer Research Threatens Lives & Future Cancer Treatment & Prevention
Advancing Cancer Treatment Through Foundational Research
The most visible progress in cancer treatment are treatment breakthroughs like new immunotherapies, targeted drugs, and precision medicine.
While the companies that take the drugs the final miles attract the headlines, they’re only possible because of the foundational, long-term research funded by the NIH and NCI.
Comprehensive Cancer Information – NCI
NIH & NCI support the “bottom of the pyramid” work that industry rarely invests in like the core biology, mechanisms of disease, and early-phase research that lays the groundwork for later clinical innovation, clinical trials and finally licensing of new therapies.
Preventing Cancer Through Behavior & the Environment
In public health, our greatest wins come from prevention. Perhaps the most striking example is the decades-long campaign to reduce tobacco use.
Thanks to tobacco taxes, smoke-free laws, education, and cessation programs, smoking rates have dropped dramatically and so have lung cancer rates.
Similarly, public health improvements like food safety regulations and widespread refrigeration have led to declines in stomach cancer, once one of the most common cancers globally. Prevention through behavior change and environmental improvement saves lives before a diagnosis is even on the table.
Catching Cancer Early: Better Screening
Early cancer detection saves lives. Public health programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Marketplace health insurance (the Affordable care Act) increase access to screening like mammograms, Pap smears, and PSA tests which help find cancers when they are most treatable.
Guidelines developed through research ensure screening is both effective and safe, while programs that expand access (especially in underserved populations) ensure equity in outcomes.
A Case Study in Prevention: The HPV Vaccine
One of the most powerful cancer prevention tools is the HPV vaccine. It prevents infections with human papillomavirus, a major cause of cervical and other cancers.
The science that led to the vaccine including the discovery of HPV’s role in cancer, the development of virus-like particle technology, and the conduct of early trials was heavily funded by NIH and NCI… a textbook example of how sustained public investment in basic and translational research can produce life-saving tools.
The fight against cancer depends on a multifaceted approach and it only works when backed by robust public funding. Whether through new treatments, behavioral prevention, early detection, or vaccines like HPV, the contributions of NIH and NCI are foundational to our progress.
Sadly, all of that is now at risk because of Secretary Kennedy’s enthusiasm for dramatically cutting back on cancer prevention, screening and treatment research.
