Advocacy Day ad - Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

PASS THIS BILL
SO THOUSANDS MORE WON’T PASS AWAY.
AFTER FIVE YEARS AND OVERWHELMING BIPARTISAN SUPPORT, IT’S TIME TO
PASS THE PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH & EDUCATION ACT (S.362/H.R.733).

CONGRESS, IT’S TIME TO PASS
THE PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH
& EDUCATION ACT (S.362/ H.R.733).
More than 181,000 Americans have died from pancreatic cancer in the five years since the Pancreatic
Cancer Research & Education Act was first introduced. The bill now has broad bi-partisan support, including
half of the Senate; a majority of the House; a majority of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
Committee (HELP); a majority of the House Energy & Commerce Committee; more than 40 members of the
Republican Study Committee; and approximately 20 members of the Tea Party. In fact, this bill has more
co-sponsors and bi-partisan support than any other bill referred to the Senate HELP Committee and the
House Energy & Commerce Committee this Congress.
This bill is critical because pancreatic
cancer is the only major cancer 1 that still
has a five-year relative survival rate in the
single digits at just six percent 2 . The survival
rate is particularly alarming when you consider that
the overall cancer survival rate is now 67 percent.
The lack of progress in improving treatments for the
nation’s fourth leading cause of cancer-related death
and tenth leading cancer diagnosis is unacceptable.
S. 362/H.R. 733 would spur progress for pancreatic
cancer research by requiring the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop a long-term and
comprehensive strategic plan for improving survival
rates for the disease. Just like any business with a
problem, the bill requires the NCI to bring together
experts, identify the challenges, and propose
solutions to address the issue. The strategic plan
would not only assist the NCI in understanding
the gaps in pancreatic cancer research, but would
also provide benchmarks against which research
progress can be measured and help to bolster
public-private partnerships. There is strong
precedent for the approach outlined in the
bill. Congress has authorized similar programs for
diabetes, Alzheimer’s, autism and breast cancer.
This bill does not dictate how the NCI should
conduct pancreatic cancer research or
award grants. The strategic plan and coordinating
committee called for in the bill would provide
guidance; final decisions would be left to the NCI.
The legislation would provide accountability for
limited taxpayer resources.
This is not a disease-specific bill. It includes a
recommendation that the NCI develop a new grant
program to focus on the other deadly cancers. The
program would be piloted with pancreatic cancer
(the deadliest major cancer), but could be expanded
to include any cancer with a five-year survival rate
below 50 percent, including brain, esophageal, liver,
lung, myeloma, ovarian and stomach cancers.
In addition, the bill recommends that the NCI expand
the number of Specialized Programs of Research
Excellence (SPORE) for pancreatic cancer and
requires that the National Institutes of Health and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work
with patient advocacy organizations to develop a
toolkit for patients and a program to better educate
primary care providers about pancreatic cancer.
1
“Major cancer” is defined as one tracked by both the
American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.
2
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2012.
Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2012.
CONGRESS HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THIS DISMAL STATISTIC. A single-digit survival rate
for one of our nation’s leading cancer killers is unacceptable, especially given that overall cancer incidence and
death rates are declining while the incidence of and death rate for pancreatic cancer have been increasing.
The number of new pancreatic cancer cases is projected to increase by 55 percent between 2010 and 2030.
We must act now to ensure that we have the tools we need to address this current and impending crisis.
PASS THIS BILL SO THOUSANDS MORE WON’T PASS AWAY.
PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK | GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS & ADVOCACY OFFICE
1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20036 | Ph: 202.742.6699 | Fx: 202.742.6518 | www.pancan.org/pass