Richard J. Boxer, MD, FACS
In an effort to reduce the size of government, the current administration has proposed an across the board 37% reduction1 in funding for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This will result in approval of only 4% of applications2 from scientists at universities and cancer centers, with 96% of all new research proposals being rejected, the termination of some existing programs, and reduction in essential clinical trials.3
Americans have invested $184 billion from 1938 to 2025 into the NCI, and we have gotten our money’s worth. The scientists at NCI have discovered preventions, treatments, and cures for cancer, resulting in saving 4.5 million lives over the past 30 years.4 There has been a 71% reduction in pediatric cancer deaths, and a 34% reduction in cancer deaths in adults since 1991,5 99.4% of new drugs approved6 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2010 and 2019 were the result of discoveries made by National Institutes of Health (NIH) research,7 and the mortality rates have dropped8 in 12 of 19 of the most common cancers in men and 14 of 20 of the most common cancers in women.
The Impact of Cancer on Americans
Yet 40% of Americans will develop cancer in their lifetimes, and more than 2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2025. It is not only a disease of the elderly: cancer is becoming an epidemic9 for Americans younger than age 50, and 1,600 children died of cancer in 2024. This is a time to expand the funding of the NCI; this is not a time to reduce funding for cancer research.
In 2024, 612,000 Americans died of cancer,10 nearly as many as the 658,000 combat deaths in all U.S. wars since 1795.11 Would we consider reducing the defense budget if hundreds of thousands of our soldiers were annually dying on a battlefield?
President Nixon created the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) in 1972; effectively, this was the Board of Directors on the NCI. I was appointed to serve on the NCAB by President Clinton in 1995 and by President Biden in 2022. I am a survivor of three different cancers. Thanks to the basic and clinical research scientists, and to the countless courageous Americans who participated in clinical trials, I am able to continue my 45 years of caring for patients and enjoying my family. My fellow citizens may not be as fortunate to benefit from new discoveries if the policies of the current administration are adopted and funding to the NCI is cut.
All organizations can strive toward more efficient processes and reduced expenditures, but such efficiencies and cost savings must be carefully considered, thoughtfully implemented, and take into account the potential consequences—sometimes life or death consequences.
The Future of Cancer Research in the United States
What is most concerning is that new investigators are unlikely to be funded and may cease their promising investigations and careers in the United States. These new investigators represent the future of cancer research. The average age of a scientist at the time of discovery who wins the Nobel Prize in medicine is 41.12 If young scientist never enter cancer research, the discoveries will never occur.
Senior scientists are reluctantly leaving the NCI with offers from major research universities, but positions are limited by the current administration’s reduction in funding to universities through the NIH and the National Science Foundation.13 Young investigators are being courted by the European Commission,14 which has created a $500 million fund to attract American scientists. We’re driving the scientists who are most likely to fulfill the dream of curing cancer into the arms of other countries.
This is a time to expand the funding of the NCI; this is not a time to reduce funding for cancer research.— RICHARD J. BOXER, MD, FACS
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The benefits of cancer research are felt in the economy. Not only do healthy workers improve productivity and pay taxes, but for every research dollar invested the return is fourfold.15 Further, spinoffs from the research have launched over $209 billion in venture money to fund oncology startups.16
Yet, without funding, the fulfillment of the promise of the NCI will be diminished.
The budget cuts and firings are not only affecting scientists and staff. The website and communication arms of the NCI have been devastatingly dismantled.17 Patients with cancer and their families call the NCI thousands of times per month for reliable information. Now their needs for information and questions go unanswered. Further, interruptions due to firings, rehirings, freezing of funds, and other such disruptions are making the 87-year-old greatest scientific institution in the world one that is rife with chaos and destroyed morale.
The NCI is essential for the health of our nation. The NCI, people with cancer, and their families have always had bipartisan support in Congress and, more importantly, from taxpayers, since 1938, including 14 presidents and 42 Congresses. And 61% of Americans oppose cuts to health agencies.18
Diminishing funding will be catastrophic to millions of patients and families, who will experience the devastation of cancer in the coming years. The power to prevent, treat, and cure cancer is in the hands of the scientists. The power to continue their work is in our voices and the courage of members of Congress and senators to oppose the policies of the current administration and stop the reduction of funding to the NCI.
DISCLOSURE: Dr. Boxer reported no conflicts of interest.
REFERENCES
1. American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Future cancer cures in jeopardy as President proposes massive cuts to National Cancer Institute. May 30, 2025. Available at https://www.fightcancer.org/releases/future-cancer-cures-jeopardy-president-proposes-massive-cuts-national-cancer-institute. Accessed October 20, 2025.
2. The Cancer Letter: FY25 paylines drop to 4th percentile—a historic low—as NCI braces for Trump’s FY26 budget cuts. July 25, 2025. Available at https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20250725_5a/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
3. Johnson L: What happens if the National Cancer Institute loses funding? Clinical Leader. April 3, 2025. Available at https://www.clinicalleader.com/doc/what-happens-if-the-national-cancer-institute-loses-funding-0001. Accessed October 20, 2025.
4. Siegel RL, Kratzer TB, Giaquinto AN, et al: Cancer statistics, 2025. CA Cancer J Clin 75:10-45, 2025.
5. American Cancer Society: Cancer facts & figures 2021. January 12, 2021. Available at https://www.cancer.org/research/acs-research-news/facts-and-figures-2021.html. Accessed October 20, 2025.
6. Welsh L: What do Trump’s NIH restrictions mean for cancer research? Oncology Central. January 24, 2025. Available at https://www.oncology-central.com/what-do-trumps-nih-restrictions-mean-for-cancer-research/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
7. Matthius A: The impact of funding cuts: AACR Annual Meeting 2025 shows why cancer research matters. May 23, 2025. Available at https://www.aacr.org/blog/2025/05/23/the-impact-of-funding-cuts-aacr-annual-meeting-2025-shows-why-cancer-research-matters/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
8. National Cancer Institute SEER: Annual Report to the Nation: Overall cancer statistics. Available at https://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/stats.html. Accessed October 20, 2025.
9. Ugai T, Sasamoto N, Lee HY, et al: Is early-onset cancer an emerging global epidemic? Current evidence and future implications. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 19:656-673, 2022.
10. American Cancer Society: Cancer facts & figures 2024. Available at https://www.cancer.org/research/acs-research-news/facts-and-figures-2024.html. Accessed October 20, 2025.
11. USAFacts: How many people have died in the US military, and how? March 5, 2024. Available at https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-military-deaths-changed-over-time/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
12. Bjørk R: The age at which Nobel Prize research is conducted. Scientometrics 119:931-939, 2019.
13. Mervis J: Final NSF budget proposal jettisons one giant telescope amid savage agency-wide cuts. Science. May 30, 2025. Available at https://www.science.org/content/article/final-nsf-budget-proposal-jettisons-one-giant-telescope-amid-savage-agencywide-cuts. Accessed October 20, 2025.
14. SolarPACES: As the US cuts scientific talent, Europe launches an initiative to attract it. May 8, 2025. Available at https://www.solarpaces.org/as-the-us-cuts-scientific-talent-europe-launches-an-initiative-to-attract-it/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
15. The Perryman Group: An economic assessment of the cost of cancer in Texas and the benefits of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and its programs: 2023 update. November 30, 2023. Available at https://cprit.texas.gov/media/3199/perryman-cprit-impact-11-30-2023.pdf. Accessed October 20, 2025.
16. Tracxn: Oncology sector overview. October 2, 2025. Available at https://tracxn.com/d/sectors/oncology/__HNNGMgmk4ttrJvaR1wz9Sjqh1xmFQSE-QUoPsxlPQ0M. Accessed October 20, 2025.
17. Chen A, Mast J: Despite its cancer-fighting mission, NCI starts to feel Trump administration budget ax. May 7, 2025. Available at https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/07/trump-nih-cuts-reach-national-cancer-institute-nci-hit-with-staff-layoffs-program-closures/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
18. Sparks G, Montero A, Presiado M, et al: KFF Health Tracking Poll April 2025: Public’s view on major cuts to federal health agencies. May 1, 2025. Available at https://www.kff.org/medicaid/kff-health-tracking-poll-april-2025-publics-view-on-major-cuts-to-federal-health-agencies/. Accessed October 20, 2025.
Dr. Boxer is Clinical Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Member, National Cancer Advisory Board.
