Need for Lung Cancer 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:

(1) National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Even though lung cancer causes one in every three cancer deaths, lung cancer research received less than 5% of NCI’s budget in 2007.

(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Congress also earmarks funding within CDC for specific cancers. The CDC budget for 2007 includes $201 million for breast and cervical cancer initiatives, $13.9 million for prostate cancer and $14.4 million for colon cancer.

CDC budget for 2007 included $0 for lung cancer initiatives.

(3) 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 2007 DOD has spent $2.07 billion on breast cancer research and $810 million on prostate cancer research.

Total Research Funding From NCI, CDC, and DOD (2007):
• Breast: $971,800,000
• Prostate: $323,500,000
• Colon: $287,000,000
• Lung: $226,900,000

Sources:
• Lung Cancer Alliance
• NCI Spending for FY07: 2007 NCI Fact Book
• CDC Appropriations for FY07
• DOD cancer funding for FY07
• Surveilance, Epidemiology and End Results Program