World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos - KFF Health News

The National Cancer Institute has terminated funds nationwide for research to fight the disease, expand care, and train new oncologists.

Cancer mortality in the U.S. has fallen by 34% since 1991 , according to the American Cancer Society .

Nearly 2 million Americans are diagnosed with malignancies every year ; cancer is the second -leading cause of death after heart disease.

At least 172 National Cancer Institute grants, including for research aimed at minimizing health disparities among racial minorities or LGBTQ+ people, were terminated and hadn’t been reinstated as of June 16 .

Three of four of NCI ’s research dollars go to outside scientists, with most of the remainder funding more than 300 scientists on campus.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the reporting amounted to a “biased narrative”.

In May , NCI informed leaders of a program that links 14 large U.S. cancer centers with minority-serving colleges and universities that their funding would be cut.

NCI ’s Notice of Funding Opportunity had been suddenly taken offline, meaning NCI staffers couldn’t award future funding.

The cancer partnerships have trained more than 8,500 scientists.