The Breast Cancer Research Foundation Awards Record-Breaking $74.75M in Scientific Grants in Year of Exceptional Turmoil in Scientific Funding

BCRF responds to scientific community's urgent need to sustain research

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when government and institutional budgets for cancer research are shrinking, the need for private investment has never been more urgent. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) today announced a record-breaking $74.75 million investment in breast cancer research for 2025–2026, funding more than 260 scientists across 16 countries. This unprecedented investment spans the full continuum of the disease—from prevention and early detection to metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

"As the research funding landscape faces total realignment, the imperative grows for innovative collaborations that invigorate the pipeline of life saving discoveries, and BCRF is uniquely positioned to bridge the widening gap," said Donna McKay, BCRF President and CEO. "Our public institutions face mounting budget constraints; yet the urgency of breast cancer research—its prevention, detection, and treatment—cannot wait. Advancements can't come fast enough. Not for patients. Not for their loved ones. And not for us. No other private funder brings together such a vast network of scientists, institutions, and data. This year's record-breaking investment reflects our conviction that we can accelerate progress—preventing breast cancer where possible and ending its life-threatening impact everywhere."

This Year's Research Priorities: Tackling Breast Cancer's Most Pressing Questions
Each year, BCRF identifies the most urgent opportunities to accelerate progress. While the Foundation supports a diverse array of research projects, for 2025–2026, key priorities include:

• Serving as bridge support for investigators in need of stability and continuity to sustain research projects
• Uncovering why breast cancer in younger women is rising and develop new risk prediction tools.
• Advancing immunotherapies designed to harness the immune system against breast tumors.
• Deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to refine screening, predict treatment responses, and personalize care.
• Transforming diagnostics by integrating imaging, genetics, and blood-based tests to detect breast cancer earlier and more accurately.

"Breast cancer is not one disease—it is many, each with its own biology, behavior, and burden," said Dorraya El-Ashry, PhD, BCRF Chief Scientific Officer. "This portfolio directly addresses the biggest unknowns. Our researchers are breaking new ground to uncover why and how breast cancer arises, how it spreads, and how we can treat or prevent it for every patient, in every community."

Learn more about our research projects and keep up with the latest developments in breast cancer research on BCRF's blog, The Progress Report.

EXPANDING SUPPORT AS FUNDING LANDSCAPE SHIFTS
At a time when government and institutional budgets for cancer research are shrinking, the need for private investment has never been more urgent. In 2025, federal cancer research funding is expected to decline significantly, threatening to stall critical projects and delay lifesaving discoveries.

BCRF is stepping into this widening gap. With sustained growth in its grantmaking, the Foundation ensures that promising ideas are not shelved for lack of resources. This year's investment includes a concerted effort to keep young investigators committed to research, ensuring a future pipeline of scientists engaged in improving the future of care.

PRECISION PREVENTION: REVOLUTIONIZING RISK ASSESSMENT
BCRF's Precision Prevention Initiative is rewriting what prevention looks like. A milestone achievement came this year with the first-ever AI mammography tool, Clairity Breast, to receive FDA clearance.

By integrating AI, large-scale data, vaccine technology, and biology, BCRF researchers are developing personalized prevention strategies that will allow women to understand their individual risk and take proactive steps—before disease develops.

IMPROVING RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY
BCRF continues to expand its Global Data Hub, the world's first centralized platform for breast cancer research data. Planned advancements include:

• The Breast Cancer Data Library, integrating key external datasets (such as the Women's Health Initiative, Nurses' Health Studies, GEO, and UPMC Breast Cancer Data Mart) with new -omics, clinical, and public health data.
• A permanent repository to meet journal requirements and enhance transparency.
• State-of-the-art computing power for advanced analytics, including machine learning and analysis.

FUELING METASTATIC RESEARCH WORLDWIDE
More than one-third of BCRF's annual funding—$25 million across 96 projects—is devoted to metastatic breast cancer (MBC). BCRF remains the largest private funder of MBC research worldwide.

These projects are unraveling how breast cancer cells spread, identifying biomarkers to predict metastasis, and developing therapies to stop or slow progression. Through the Evelyn H. Lauder Founder's Fund, BCRF supports the AURORA projects, the most extensive global initiative in MBC research, which is delivering unprecedented insights into the biology of metastasis.

At a time when federal funding for cancer research is dramatically shifting, BCRF is stepping in to ensure bold ideas move forward. In partnership with ARPA-H, the Foundation is supporting a large, innovative biomarker-driven clinical trial for metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. This model is built to accelerate the most promising targeted therapies, offering patients faster access to the breakthroughs they urgently need.

"While federal funding for research drastically shifts, we must sustain meaningful, innovative cancer research by building bold public-private partnerships—alliances that stretch dollars, speed discovery, and protect equity in outcomes," said El-Ashry. "Public-private partnerships aren't a stop-gap—they're a lifeline for a threatened ecosystem. The alternative thwarts our ambition and impacts the lives we might save."

UNRAVELLING DISPARITIES IN BREAST CANCER
Breast cancer does not affect all communities equally. Outcomes differ dramatically by race, ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status. Black women in the U.S., for example, are 38% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.

Now entering its third year, BCRF's Health Equity Initiative is uncovering the drivers of these disparities and BCRF, more broadly, is seeking solutions—from improving clinical trial participation to building culturally tailored interventions in underserved communities. By directly addressing inequities in access and outcomes from many angles, BCRF is ensuring that advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment reach every patient.

TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE
Research often advances step by step, with each discovery building on the last. But in the past decade, progress has accelerated at an extraordinary pace. Powered by innovation and collaboration, progress is accelerating by leaps and bounds.

In the last decade, the FDA has approved 17 new treatments informed by BCRF research, including 10 in the past five years alone—a sign of how rapidly science is reshaping patient care. For patients with metastatic breast cancer, the outlook has improved dramatically, with many living at least a decade or more thanks to these advances. This momentum underscores how quickly science can change lives when fueled by sustained investment.

"Our work is both deeply personal and profoundly collective," said McKay. "Each of us carries the stories of loved ones, family, friends, and colleagues affected by this disease. That urgency unites us. And it's why we bring together scientists, clinicians, advocates, and supporters—because only together can we drive the breakthroughs that will finally end breast cancer."

With the progress made over the last three decades, BCRF is focused on the future: the chance to build on those advances and, one day, end the disease.

Media Contact: 
Sadia Zapp
Managing Director of Communications & Content
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
[email protected] 

SOURCE Breast Cancer Research Foundation