Proposal would cut cancer institute budget again

[Nguyen]

Can someone post contact info for politicians who we can write to? Thanks.

- Nguyen



Proposal would cut cancer institute budget again

[USA Today]



Leading cancer experts say key research could come to a halt because of proposed spending cuts to the National Cancer Institute.

President Bush has proposed cutting the institute's budget for the second consecutive year. The cuts would reduce the NCI's 2007 budget by almost 1%, or $36 million, to just over $4.7 billion. Although NCI director John Niederhuber notes that the institute's final budget has not been set, he's concerned that Congress could shrink his budget by 5% to 10%.

During a visit recently to the National Institutes of Health, Bush said NCI funding is still relatively high and has doubled in the past decade. Bush also noted an American Cancer Society report showing that the number of cancer deaths dropped for the second year in a row, falling by 3,014 from 2003 to 2004.

"We're proud of the significant investment that we have made in cancer research," White House spokesman Tony Fratto says. "We're also proud of the results showing that researchers are delivering on that investment."

But scientists are concerned that funding cuts could undermine that success. "At a time when we are finally making progress, they are pulling the rug out," says Allen Lichter, executive vice president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The oncology society says cooperative cancer groups around the country may have to close or delay 95 trials this year, nearly half of the trials that these groups conduct each year.