On June 24, the House of Representatives passed the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (HR 3010) by a vote of 250-151.  The bill has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and subcommittee markups are scheduled for July 12^th and full committee markups are scheduled for the 14^th. 

The funding levels in the bill were established by the House LHHS subcommittee on June 9^th.  According to the bill, the National Institutes of Health would receive $28.5 billion in FY 2006, a 0.5% increase over FY 2005. The NIH had requested $28.59 billion, a $196 million or 0.7% increase.  The funding levels approved by the House would be the lowest increase of funds for the NIH in more than two decades. 

As part of the NIH’s allocation, the NCI would receive $4.84 billion in FY 2006, a $16.5 million or 0.34% increase over the FY 2005 level.  The NCI had requested 6.17 billion for 2006.

The following links justify the NIH and NCI’s budget request and emphasize the importance of a budget increase.
NCI Budget Justification
NIH Budget Justification

IOM Looking into Post-Market Drug Safety System

The Institute of Medicine recently formed an ad hoc committee at the request of the Food and Drug Administration that will assess the current post-marketing drug safety system and make recommendations for its improvement.  The committee, whose project is called “Assessment of the U.S. Drug Safety System,” includes an impressive list of physicians, lawyers, statisticians, and others who are familiar with the issues surrounding drug safety.

At the first meeting held on June 8, 2005, the committee heard from government, industry, and patient organizations who gave their perspectives on the current drug safety system.  The second meeting of the committee will be July 19^th to 21^st at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.  The meeting will be open to the public from 3:00-6:00pm on July 19^th and will be devoted to public comments regarding post-marketing drug safety.  If you would like to speak at this meeting you must sign up in advance by sending an email to drugsafety@nas.edu, including your full name, organization/affiliation, address, and phone and fax numbers.  You will be allotted 5 to 8 minutes to speak.  This meeting will also be open to the public on July 20^th from 1:00-5:30pm.  If you would like to attend the meeting but not be a presenter, you may register at www.iom.edu/drugsafety/meetingtwo.   

FOCR Activities

FOCR to Co-Host Drug Safety Briefing on the Hill

Friends of Cancer Research will host a special drug safety briefing on Capitol Hill later this month in partnership with the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALS), and the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN).  The briefing will feature a diverse panel of patients, physicians, and scientists dealing with life-altering diseases who will offer their perspectives on issues related to drug safety and efficacy.  For more information about the event, please email info@focr.org.

FOCR Joins National Health Council

FOCR is now a member of the National Health Council, a non-profit umbrella organization composed of leading health care organizations that share a common objective: improving the health of all people, particularly those with chronic diseases and/or disabilities. Through communication, collaboration and consensus, the Council's member organizations — representing all segments of the health care community — work to achieve this important objective.

 FOCR Announces Membership of New Scientific Advisory Board

Friends of Cancer Research is excited to announce the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board composed of leading scientists and doctors from around the country.  The newly formed Scientific Advisory Board will provide independent scientific advice and recommendations to the organization on issues relevant to the advancement of cancer research.  Friends is honored to welcome the following individuals onto the Scientific Advisory Board - please click here for the full list.

FOCR Welcomes Two New Board Members

The FOCR Board of Directors recently voted to add two new board members: Lucile L. Adams-Campbell, Ph.D., Director of the Howard University Cancer Center and Nancy Davenport-Ennis, CEO of the Patient Advocate Foundation.  FOCR looks forward to having their unique and valued perspectives.

Dr. Adams-Campbell is currently the only African-American woman director of cancer center in the country and was the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D. in epidemiology in the country.    Dr. Adams-Campbell’s research focuses on addressing health disparities in the African Diaspora, with particular emphasis on clinical trials, cancer etiology, and behavioral risk factors including exercise and nutrition.

Nancy Davenport-Ennis is a cancer survivor and the Founding Executive Director of the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), a policy organization that seeks to improve access to care through regulatory and policy initiatives at the state and federal levels. Additionally, she established Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) in 1996 as a direct patient services non-profit organization. PAF provides case managers and attorneys to resolve access, pre-authorization, coding and billing errors and assistance with expedited approvals to private and public health care programs. 

 Back to top

For a number of years stem cell research has been a major topic of national debate. The promise of stem cell research is impressive, but what does it mean for cancer? Fundamentally, stem cell research has remarkable potential to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

The different types of stem cells are precursor cells in the body and have the ability to develop into any type of cell, from liver tissue to white blood cells. Stem cells have actually been treating cancer for 40 years through hematopoietic stem cell bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, both of which are procedures done to restore cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Theoretical stem cell cancer treatment options are vast, ranging from using stem cells to help the body’s immune system target and kill cancer cells, to growing genetically identical replacement tissue. Additionally, through the use of specifically designed stem cells, cancer patients may be able to benefit from a continuous supply of transplantable bone marrow and white blood cells. Some new treatment methods are already in the preliminary phases of research.   The NIH currently lists more than 250 clinical cancer trials that involve stem cells.

Stem cells can also help scientists fully understand cancer and cancer growth mechanisms, which would facilitate the development of new detection and prevention techniques. The scientific possibility also exists of isolating the precursor stem cells for many cancers and then determining the specific molecular progression of the disease. Peer-reviewed scientific evidence already indicates that stem cells provide models for the molecular and cellular genesis of cancer. Identifying and isolating cancer stem cells will help researchers determine molecular signals directing tumorigenesis as well as hand them a distinct advantage in developing targeted therapies, examining drug toxicity, and determining drug efficacy.

Stem cell research is a major frontier in medicine with enormous promise, not only for cancer, but for other devastating illnesses such as heart disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, paralysis, and neurodegeneration. To learn more about stem cells and stem cell research please use the following links.

Links: