How Advocates Like You Have Added Millions in Research Funding Over the Past Three Years – And Can Do It Again This Year
Thanks to ECAN’s advocacy, Esophageal Cancer has been included in a special federal research program funded through the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) since 2019. While the grant funding process is underway for 2023 and has just begun for 2024, more than $15 million has been awarded for Esophageal Cancer research over the first three years. This funding is in addition to the critical research funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Congressional rules state that each year, individual members of Congress must decide which cancers will be included in the PRCRP. Being included in the past does not guarantee continued inclusion. That means each year we need as many U.S. Senators and Representatives as possible to tell the Senate and House Appropriations Committees’ Subcommittee on Defense to keep Esophageal Cancer in this critical program. We do that by asking them to sign a letter – Senators sign the letter to the Senate DoD Appropriations Subcommittee and Representatives sign the letter to the House DoD Appropriations Subcommittee.
Background on the Department of Defense (DoD)
Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP)
Congress created the PRCRP in 2009 to support innovative and competitive cancer research to benefit our military and civilian populations. Under the law, each year Congress must specify the cancers that will be eligible for research funding through this multi-million-dollar program.
There is no guarantee that any cancer will continue to be eligible, even if it has been on the list for a decade! In fact, there have been many instances when previously included cancers were not included on the final list for the new year. We want to be sure that does not happen to Esophageal Cancer.
Esophageal Cancer can only be eligible for funding under this program if individual members of Congress say that it should be included. They do this by signing a letter to the House or Senate Appropriations Committees’ Subcommittee on Defense. There are separate letters for the House and the Senate. For 2024, we are asking U.S. Senators to sign a letter authored by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN). We are asking U.S. Representatives to sign a letter authored by Representatives Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). Read the 2024 Senate letter here. The House letter will be released shortly.
Our work continues once the signatures are gathered and the letters are sent to the Appropriations Committees. The next step is that the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees each have to pass their versions of the bills that fund the Department of Defense for the year and each make the decision to include Esophageal Cancer. Then, the full House and Senate must vote on the bills and any discrepancies between the two need to be worked out in a Conference Agreement. Once a final bill is approved by both chambers, it goes to the President’s desk for signature.
It’s a long process with a lot of opportunities for us to weigh in!
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What criteria allows Esophageal Cancer to be included in the PRCRP?
The PRCRP was established to support research into specifically designated cancers with relevance to military service members and their families. Esophageal cancer clearly meets those criteria:
- Esophageal Cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related death among American men, regardless of whether they are in civilian or military populations.
- Those at greatest risk for Esophageal Cancer are men over the age of 55 who have a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), tobacco and/or alcohol use, and/or obesity – all risks that are higher in the country’s veteran population compared to the general population.
- However, new research shows that Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, the most prevalent form of Esophageal Cancer in the United States, has increased dramatically among younger populations and that they are often diagnosed at later stages where treatments are generally less effective.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs has already stated that Esophageal Cancer is presumed to be connected to military service for those who were exposed to some types of radiation and those who lived or served at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from the 1950s to the 1980s.
- Further, some Esophageal Cancer is related to a history of smoking, a practice actively supported by the military well after the adverse health effects of tobacco use were known.
- See our Fact Sheet to learn more.
How is the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program different than research funded through the National Cancer Institute (NCI)?
The DoD’s PRCRP complements research funding provided through the NCI, but the funding awarded through the two programs is inherently different. The NCI focuses on funding the best science regardless of the disease focus. The PRCRP focuses on funding the most compelling research for each specific disease.