Abstract
The National Cancer Act of 1971 instigated 50 years of momentum that raised the federal investment in cancer research from $500 million in 1972 to $6.5 billion in 2021. This investment has fueled basic, translational, and clinical research that has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of cancer and our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. It has also affected many other diseases.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4534-4540 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Cancer |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| DOIs |
|
| State | Published - Dec 15 2021 |
Keywords
- National Cancer Act
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- National Cancer Program
- history
- investigator-initiated grant
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research
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The 50 years' war : The history and outcomes of the National Cancer Act of 1971. / Brawley, Otis W.; Goldberg, Paul.
In: Cancer, Vol. 127, No. 24, 15.12.2021, p. 4534-4540.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The 50 years' war
T2 - The history and outcomes of the National Cancer Act of 1971
AU - Brawley, Otis W.
AU - Goldberg, Paul
N1 - Funding Information: In the 1940s and even into the 1960s, the number of American institutions doing medical research, especially basic research, was limited. Most medical research was funded by private philanthropy, foundations, a few states, and clinical income. Indeed, in the early 1950s, the ACS funded more research at universities than the US government. Wanting to increase research spending, Lasker realized that the federal government could provide far more money for research than any private organization. Federal support of research required the support of the US Congress and the president. Lasker set out to get that support. Funding Information: The National Cancer Act still allows NCI officials to direct resources toward programs that coincide with the institute's strategic vision. This is done with the concurrence of the outside Board of Scientific Advisors. The institute can solicit science by issuing requests for contract proposals and requests for grant applications. As clarified by the Bayh‐Dole Act of 1980, science done by grant is owned by the funded scientist, and science done by contract is owned by the NIH institute. These rules have incentivized and catalyzed innovation by stimulating the development of knowledge and the training of scientists. Funding Information: Other elements of the National Cancer Act include the following: Creation of the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). Eighteen people—lay, medical, and scientific—are appointed to 4‐year terms by the president. Ex officio (nonvoting) members of the NCAB include the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the director of the NIH, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency, the secretary of the Department of Energy, and the secretary of the Department of Defense. Agency heads generally send representatives to NCAB meetings rather than attend themselves. The NCAB prioritizes resources and performs secondary reviews of grants that have passed peer review and are eligible for funding by the NCI. The President's Cancer Panel. This panel consists of 3 people appointed by the president. They conduct 3 to 4 hearings on the cancer problem around the country and submit a report to the president annually. Outside experts appointed by the NCI director to make recommendations on research priorities conducted or supported by the institute. This includes the evaluation of NCI grants, cooperative agreements, and contract programs and the review of concepts for grant application requests and contract proposals. The advisory role of the board is scientific and does not include deliberation on matters of public policy. From 1972 to 1995, there was a board of scientific counselors for each division. Since 1995, there has been 1 board of scientific advisors consisting of up to 35 members. Reemphasized and expanded support for the clinical cooperative trial groups (organizations of physicians who work together to conduct trials). The first cooperative groups were formed by membership from the NCI Clinical Center and some universities in the 1950s and early 1960s. Additional funding for the NCI Developmental Therapeutics Program, which dates back to the mid‐1950s. Creation of the NCI‐designated cancer centers. Previously, there were self‐designated cancer centers; some were even recognized by the NCI, but there was no specific NCI designation. The initial law called for the NCI to evaluate and officially designate 15 centers spread throughout the United States so that all Americans had access to quality cancer care. A mandate for a cancer control program to ◦Study the causes of cancer and define how to reduce cancer risk. ◦Establish the Community Clinical Oncology Program. This was an effort to bring clinical research opportunities to community hospitals and an effort to swiftly disseminate new therapeutic technology into the community. ◦Create a surveillance database capable of publishing and assessing trends in cancer incidence, mortality, and survival. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program is a coalition of cancer registries in specific areas of the United States. Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Census, it publishes cancer diagnoses and death rates. SEER also provides data for “special studies” of cancer risk and treatment patterns. A directive for the NCI to provide cancer information and education to the public, medical professionals, and scientists. This was done through the Cancer Information Service; Physician Data Query; and the , which was founded in 1940 but received greater emphasis from the National Cancer Act. Training programs that would help physicians and scientists to understand cancer, keep up with the literature, and speak the same language. 8 Journal of the National Cancer Institute Funding Information: The National Institute of Health was founded in 1887 as a microbiology research laboratory. For the first 30 years, the National Institute of Health funded only research performed by its employees. The few projects funded outside the agency were done by contract in support of intramural research. In the federal system, a contract is the purchase of a service or product of a service, and a federal employee decides what the government needs to purchase. The first National Institute of Health grants were given in 1918 and paid for venereal disease research. A grant is the provision of money to an entity to do work/research that is designed by the grantee, and the results of that grant are owned by the grant recipient. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 American Cancer Society
PY - 2021/12/15
Y1 - 2021/12/15
N2 - The National Cancer Act of 1971 instigated 50 years of momentum that raised the federal investment in cancer research from $500 million in 1972 to $6.5 billion in 2021. This investment has fueled basic, translational, and clinical research that has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of cancer and our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. It has also affected many other diseases.
AB - The National Cancer Act of 1971 instigated 50 years of momentum that raised the federal investment in cancer research from $500 million in 1972 to $6.5 billion in 2021. This investment has fueled basic, translational, and clinical research that has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of cancer and our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. It has also affected many other diseases.
KW - National Cancer Act
KW - National Cancer Institute (NCI)
KW - National Cancer Program
KW - history
KW - investigator-initiated grant
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120622696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85120622696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/cncr.34040
DO - 10.1002/cncr.34040
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 34874558
AN - SCOPUS:85120622696
VL - 127
SP - 4534
EP - 4540
JO - Cancer
JF - Cancer
SN - 0008-543X
IS - 24
ER -