Keeping Pace with Research Promise: NCI Funding Falls Behind Surge in Grant Proposals

By Jaren Love, Government Relations Manager at the Association of American Cancer Institutes

We are living in an exciting era of cancer discovery. Every day, with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI), researchers are working towards cutting-edge treatments, cures, and prevention methods. Innovation in these areas is already making a difference, with cancer death rates plummeting over the last 30 years. In 1991, the rate of cancer deaths in the United States peaked at 215 cancer deaths per 100,000 people. By 2019, that number dropped 32 percent to 146 deaths per 100,000. Despite this progress, cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the United States. This year alone, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 1.9 million cases of cancer diagnosed and 600,000 cancer deaths in the U.S.

One encouraging development in the ongoing battle against cancer is the increase in proposals submitted to the NCI over the past several years. Specifically, from 2013 to 2019, grant applications to the NCI grew by 50 percent, while applications to the NIH as a whole increased by about 11 percent. However, one downside of the increase in grant applications is that many applications go unfunded. Between 1997 and 2019, the percentage of NCI-funded proposals declined from 28 percent to 8 percent. For comparison, other NIH institutes typically fund above the 20th percentile. The low percentage of funding has the potential to damage cancer research and discourage a generation of promising scientists.

Cancer Moonshot

In February 2022, President Biden announced a new Cancer Moonshot—reviving the initiative established during his vice presidency under President Obama. The original Cancer Moonshot—part of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act—passed in December 2016 and provided a $1.8 billion boost to cancer research over a seven-year period.

The current iteration of the Cancer Moonshot has taken more of an executive-level approach and has convened multiple agencies to collaborate on President Biden’s goal of cutting cancer death rates by 50 percent over the next 25 years. President Biden’s team has called upon the private sector, foundations, academic institutions, health care providers, and all Americans to join the mission of reducing the cancer death rate while improving patient experiences of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival.

As an association representing 106 leading cancer centers, AACI has been pleased with the president’s focus on cancer. The Cancer Moonshot team has identified several priorities that align with those of AACI cancer centers: improving prevention tools; increasing screening rates; improving access to innovative treatments and therapies; and improving health equity.

To fully realize the Biden administration’s ambitious goals, the cancer center community needs robust support for research funding, particularly through the NCI. According to data from the nonprofit ACT for NIH, the NCI is currently only able to fund about one in eight meritorious research applications. At this rate, many potential treatments and cures won’t see the light of day.

It will take bold, bipartisan action to address this funding crisis. Last December, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) pitched a $1-billion boost to the NCI in Scientific American. Late last year, Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) also introduced the Knock Out Cancer Act, which would add a 25 percent increase to NCI research funding in Fiscal Years 2023-2027. This crucial funding increase would boost proposal funding rates in support of additional cancer research.

AACI appreciates ongoing opportunities to collaborate with the White House on the Cancer Moonshot goals. To truly accelerate progress against cancer, additional cancer research funding is essential.