Recalcitrant Cancer Act Signed by President Obama

The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute and Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation Thank the President and Congress for Focusing Federal Translational Research Efforts against Lung Cancer

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Jan. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) and Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) join the pancreatic and lung cancer patient communities in thanking President Obama for signing the Recalcitrant Cancer Act. This important bill will bring a much-needed strategic, scientific, and thus more rational research investment and focus on lung and pancreatic cancers through the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 

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The Recalcitrant Cancer Act was initiated by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, sponsored by Representatives Leonard Lance (NJ-R) and Anna Eshoo (CA-D), and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and unanimously passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, 2012. The legislation was later attached to the National Defense Authorization Act and passed on December 21, 2012.

The collaborative effort between the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Lung Cancer Alliance, who launched the legislative effort on lung cancer six years ago in getting this bill passed, is commendable and should be seen as a window to the future of success in research. Lung cancer's five year survival rate is 15%, and pancreatic cancer's is 5% - both little changed since Cancer legislation was passed forty years ago. The NCI must now send its framework and plan back to Congress in 18 months.

Lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. More than 220,000 adults are diagnosed with lung cancer every year, and only 15.5% survive 5 years after diagnosis. More than 160,000 Americans (1.4 million people worldwide) are projected to die from lung cancer in 2012, taking more lives than the next top four cancers (colon, breast, pancreatic and prostate) combined. Nearly 80% of initial lung cancer diagnoses are in never-smokers, or those that stopped smoking decades ago, and approximately 85% of all lung cancer patients are diagnosed in advanced stage due to lack of effective early detection tests. The lack of progress against lung cancer has resulted from a number of factors, including the genetic complexity of these tumors coupled with disproportionately low federal research investment. "We thank the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for initiating the effort that resulted in the Recalcitrant Cancer Act," said Steven Young, ALCMI's president.  "As a patient-founded international translational research consortium, we are proud to have contributed the lung cancer scientist and patient perspectives to the bill's sponsors, in conjunction with other lung cancer patient advocacy organizations."

This bill addresses a serious and urgent public health issue. "As a lung cancer survivor, I am grateful to our President, Congress, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) for driving forward this important piece of legislation," said Bonnie J. Addario, Founder of BJALCF and ALCMI. "I also thank Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), former Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and the LCA for their support of the Lung Cancer Mortality Act, which promises to also help advance the cause against the number one cancer killer."

About the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)
 ALCMI, as a patient-founded, U.S.-based international translational research consortium, was established in 2008 to directly catalyze and accelerate the discovery of new and more effective treatment options for all lung cancer patients. ALCMI has established a centralized, standardized biorepository with associated clinical data to serve as a resource to investigators within and without our consortium member institutions. Presently, 17 leading academic and community centers in the US and Europe have contractually joined together under ALCMI's leadership, collaborating on cutting edge research initiatives. For more information on ALCMI please contact Mr. Steven Young, president & COO, at 203.226.5765 or [email protected]. www.alcmi.net

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
BJALCF is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, early detection, education, and treatment. The Foundation works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change. BJALCF was established on March 6, 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised over nine million dollars for Lung Cancer research. For more information on BJALCF, contact Mr. Scott Santarella, president & CEO, at 203.226.5765 or [email protected].  www.lungcancerfoundation.org

SOURCE Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute