Federally-Funded Cancer Research at a Perilous Crossroads: Deep Cuts Threaten Progress

The proposed FY2026 federal budget includes a nearly 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, threatening funding for groundbreaking cancer research initiatives and public health programs2 3.

The Department of Defense eliminated all funding for lung, kidney, pancreatic, and brain cancer research under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs for FY2025, leaving the Lung Cancer Research Program with zero federal funding5.

The only federal program dedicated solely to pancreatic cancer research (PCARP) was eliminated for FY2025, forcing researchers to seek funding through more general programs and raising urgent calls for restoration and increases in future budgets4.

Leading organizations and advocates, including AACR and ACS CAN, have raised alarms about these cuts, warning that they jeopardize patient access to new treatments, slow progress in early detection and translational discoveries, and imperil ongoing gains in survival rates1 2.

Private organizations such as AACR have responded with new grant programs (e.g., AACR Trailblazer Cancer Research Grants), but leaders stress that such initiatives cannot replace the scale or impact of robust federal investment1.