Kidney cancer is one of the ten most common cancers in the US. According to the American Cancer Society, over half a million people in the US live with this disease and about 81,610 people will be newly diagnosed in 2024. Sadly, nearly 15,000 people are expected to die of kidney cancer this year. Advancing kidney cancer research to develop new and better treatment options for everyone remains an urgent priority.
Since 2016, Congress has allocated $135 million in funding for research to better understand kidney cancer and identify new treatments and potential cures through the Kidney Cancer Research Program, part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRPs) at the Department of Defense. This program is the only dedicated source of federal funding for kidney cancer research and has resulted in tremendous gains for the kidney cancer community.
Thirty years ago, people diagnosed with kidney cancer had no treatment options and a bleak future. Today, there are over a dozen approved treatments and clinical trials expand patients’ options even more. Research on a kidney cancer-causing gene was the genesis of the discovery about how our cells adapt to their environment that won two American physician-scientists a 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and could change how many cancers are treated.
Despite these advances and CDMRP and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, kidney cancer remains all too common and deadly.
Your commitment to addressing the burdens of kidney cancer on people like me through robust, sustained research funding is vital for providing access to effective care, support, and hope. Accordingly, once you’ve returned from August recess and resume work on FY2025 appropriations, I urge you to fight to ensure the following provisions are included in final enacted FY2025 appropriations legislation:
- •$60 million for the Kidney Cancer Research Program under the CDMRP
- •$51,303 billion for the NIH, including $7.934 million for the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- •$1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency– Health (ARPA-H)
In addition, I ask that any efforts to reform the NIH through appropriations legislation or otherwise be carefully considered and made in consultation with affected stakeholders, including NIH officials, researchers, and critically, the patient advocacy community. Along those same lines, we urge you and your colleagues to incorporate patient perspectives in all legislative policy matters, particularly those that promote clinical trial development, diversity in clinical trial enrollment, and accelerating cures.
Thank you for your years of service. I am grateful for your work and hope that you continue to give this matter your full consideration.
Sincerely,
John Doe
Example 123 Street
Anytown, VA 00000