Precancerous pancreatic lesions and some pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors harboring KRAS mutations had higher-than-normal expression of the FGFR2 protein, and FGFR2 inactivation delayed KRAS-mutated PDAC development in mice, according to results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
“For the last 50 years every major medical breakthrough can be traced back to investments in the NIH, which houses the National Cancer Institute (NCI),” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, interim chief executive officer of American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The March 15 continuing resolution has gutted the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The program’s funding was cut by 57%, compared to Fiscal Year 2024 levels—from $1.5 billion to $650 million.
In 1991, the National Breast Cancer Coalition demanded that the federal government spend $300 million more on breast cancer research. This push resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which has broadened to 34 other diseases with an FY24 budget of $1.5 billion.