(Lack of) Federal Research Funding
When President Nixon and Congress declared War on Cancer 35 years ago, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death. It still is.
Federal cancer programs are primarily funded through three sources:
The National Cancer Institute (NCI), The Department of Defense (DoD),
and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
The National Cancer Institute
NCI’s budget has grown over the past 35 years from $380 million a year to $4.8 billion a year in fiscal year 2007 (FY07) – an increase of 1,265% - and NCI has complete control over how to spend the money. Even though lung cancer causes one in every three cancer deaths, lung cancer research received less than 5% of NCI’s budget in FY07.
The Department of Defense
In 1992, Congress started funding cancer research at DoD with a specific line-item for a breast cancer research program, and later added prostate cancer research and other diseases. Through FY07, DoD has spent $2.07 billion on breast cancer research and $810 million on prostate cancer research. Lung Cancer has never had a DoD line-item research program and will receive $0 in the DOD FY07 budget.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Congress also earmarks funding within CDC for specific cancers. The CDC budget for FY07 included $201 million for breast and cervical cancer initiatives, $13.9 million for prostate cancer and $14.4 million for colon cancer. CDC budget for FY07 included $0 for lung cancer initiatives.
Total Research Funding per Death, 2007
Breast Cancer, $24,000
Prostate Cancer, $12,000
Lung Cancer, $1,400
Five Year Survival Rates, 2007
Breast Cancer, 87%
Prostate Cancer, 99%
Lung Cancer, 15%
Source: Lung Cancer Alliance, Washington, D.C.