Feb 24, 2025 - By Carly EskinThanks to decades of sustained, predictable federal investments and increases in pancreatic cancer research, the research community is at a tipping point – 2024 saw record-breaking advancements in drug approvals, and patients today are three times more likely to survive than when PanCAN was founded in 1999.  But pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers, with a five-year survival rate of just 13% – and future progress is now at risk.  The impact of recent executive actions on current and future pancreatic cancer research progress Funding freezes, caps on Facilities and Administrative costs and other executive actions have already impacted the pancreatic cancer research community and threaten to dismantle the infrastructure that PanCAN and our community worked so hard to create over the past two decades.  Voices from the pancreatic cancer researcher community are sending a strong message: if these orders are allowed to stand, the consequences will be catastrophic. Today, we are sharing some of their concerns. There has been a temporary freeze on federal research grants across various health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), disrupting ongoing projects and creating uncertainty about future funding. “There are devastating stories coming out of Building 10 at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where clinical trial participants were unable to enroll in trials,” said one scientist.  A researcher on the frontlines of pancreatic cancer breakthroughs put it bluntly: “Not getting this grant funded in a timely manner will massively impact our momentum on this very promising [new] treatment approach.” An abrupt cap on Facilities and Administrative cost reimbursements for all NIH grants is a significant reduction in the investment in research. These costs are essential operational expenses such as maintenance of highly specialized labs, financial and legal compliance officers, chemical safety teams, etc. This cap is a cut to funding, hindering scientific progress by limiting institutions’ ability to conduct research. One leading scientist described the impact: "Receiving a grant that covers salaries, supplies, services, and equipment is great, but I can’t perform that research in my living room." Another researcher said, "If the 15% [Facilities and Administrative] cost cap goes through, this will certainly decimate the foundation of academic medicine at many institutions and cancer centers." The Future of Pancreatic Cancer Research These recent executive actions are causing confusion and uncertainty, jeopardizing funding for cancer centers doing critical research that would benefit patients and discouraging the next generation of researchers from staying in the field or finding institutions to support their work. “A talented junior physician scientist is applying for a K01 grant. [There was] a request for additional information for council review. Status is now unclear and the program announcement has been removed.”  “[Some] NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers [that have] been recently approved for their five-year renewal, have still not received their funding even though their last five-year funding cycle ended in 2024. If not remedied immediately, this has the potential to profoundly compromise support for cancer patients, cancer research and cancer clinical trials.”  There has also been confusion for patients on whether they are able to enroll or participate in clinical trials, which hinders care at a critical time in their disease progression. What You Can Do This is not just a threat to funding – it is an obstruction of scientific progress. Patients cannot afford delays. Our community, the pancreatic cancer community, must act now.  PanCAN believes in comprehensive federal funding for cancer research – and Congress should, too! The fight against pancreatic cancer cannot – and must not – be stalled. Congress needs to hear your voice now.   Put a face to the funding! Your story has the power to inspire Congress to take action to protect and increase federally funded cancer research! SHARE YOUR STORY NOW The post The Current State of Federal Funding for Pancreatic Cancer Research: A Call to Action appeared first on Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

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