Did your elected officials sign onto the 2015 goal?

C3 advocates worked hard to gain support in Congress for the National Cancer Institute’s goal of eliminating cancer death and suffering by the year 2015. Our work started on March 15, 2005 when we visited Capitol Hill as part of [One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC)](http://www.ovaconline.org). We asked our elected officials to sign onto a letter of support for the 2015 goal which would be sent to President Bush. After we returned home, we followed up with phone calls, letters and email.

In the end, C3 and other OVAC partners gathered support from:

* 275 Representatives (63%)- 139 Republicans, 135 Democrats, 1 Independent
* 92 Senators (92%)- 48 Republicans, 43 Democrats and 1 Independent

Did your elected officials support the letter?

* [Copy of the House 2015 letter with signatures](/pdf/House2015letter.pdf) (PDF)
* [Copy of the Senate 2015 letter with signatures](/pdf/Senate2015letter.pdf) (PDF)

Read on for a list of *all* signers, alphabetical by state. If your elected officials are on the list, let them know how much you appreciate their effort. If they’re not, write or call and ask them why not?

Continue reading…

Posted by Nancy Roach on September 30th, 2005
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | 1 Comment »

Removing Insurance Barriers Not Enough to Improve Clinical Trial Participation

Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine looked at enrollment in cancer clinical trials before and after changes to medical reimbursement policies that were intended to remove some of the economic barriers to clinical trial participation. In two separate reports, the researchers conclude that the removal of these barriers, by itself, is not enough to improve enrollment.

Study 1: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 21, 2004 (see journal abstract)

Study 2: Archives of Internal Medicine, July 11, 2005 (see journal abstract)

A National Cancer Institute article on these studies made the following comments:

>Taken together, these studies indicate that insurance coverage barriers are only one factor that limits enrollment in clinical trials. Removing those barriers will not, by itself, improve participation in cancer clinical trials.

>”State mandates and Medicare reimbursement do not appear to be meaningful drivers of patient accrual,” said lead researcher Cary P. Gross, M.D., of Yale University School of Medicine. “Assurance that payers such as third-party insurers and Medicare will cover routine care costs associated with clinical trials is an essential element in improving enrollment rates, but that assurance alone is not a sufficient mechanism for increasing enrollment.”

>”There are numerous barriers to clinical trial enrollment,” said Trimble. “In retrospect, the lack of coverage by Medicare and other third-party payers wasn’t as big of a barrier as we thought.”

>Although the results of these studies are mixed, they do provide important pieces to the puzzle of improving clinical trials enrollment. “The apparent increase in access to early phase studies observed in the JNCI study does show that state legislation can help, just not as much as we had hoped,” said Trimble.

See the National Cancer Institute article.

Posted by Dusty Weaver on September 29th, 2005
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NCI Director Dr. von Eschenbach Appointed Acting FDA Commissioner

Below is a note from NCI Director Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach regarding his recent appointment as the acting commissioner of the FDA.

>To: Advocates in the Cancer Community

>From: Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D.

>Subject: My Added Role as Acting Commissioner of FDA

>President Bush last week honored me with the additional role of acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With the support of Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, I will work to ensure an orderly transition of a new, permanent leadership at the FDA.

>I am excited and eager in accepting the challenge. The FDA has a critical mission — to protect and improve the health of the American people. Let me assure you that while engaged in this interim role, I intend to continue to fulfill my equally important role as Director of NCI.

>As you know, the molecular metamorphosis in our understanding of disease has been led by the cancer community, but is not cancer-centric. Although many of the fundamental principles in basic science, clinical care and technology development were initially developed in a cancer framework, they apply to many other diseases. My joint positions at the NCI and FDA allow the opportunity to closely integrate the discovery aspects of biomedical research that have been led by the NCI and NIH with the delivery aspects of the FDA to ensure that safe and effective interventions are delivered to patients. While the missions of the NCI and FDA are very different, the purpose is the same — to bring patients the full benefits of molecular medicine.

>I’ve made it one of my top priorities for NCI to collaborate with the FDA to develop a series of joint initiatives. The two organizations are now working together on translational research, a critical aspect of the continuum of scientific discovery, development of new interventions, and delivery of treatments. Among other projects, NCI and FDA have announced a joint program to train a key group of young scientists — at both institutions — to understand both bench research and the process of drug approval.

>It is the strong professionalism of the management and staff at both organizations that will enable me to carry out the dual roles. Having worked closely with FDA staff members over the past four years, I have the utmost confidence in their skill and commitment. And having the pleasure to lead the NCI, I am reminded daily of the truly outstanding advocacy community who are making our challenge goal to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer by 2015 become a reality.

>Our extensive strategic planning and implementation process will assure that this critically important effort will
remain focused and productive at the NCI. I am fortunate and privileged to continue to be a part of this remarkable institution.

Posted by Dusty Weaver on September 27th, 2005
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Director von Eschenbach Discusses Accelerating NCI’s 2015 Goal by Five Years

In the July 19, 2005 NCI Cancer Bulletin, National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach answers an important question posed by Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor in April: What would it take to accelerate by 5 years the achievement of the 2015 goal of eliminating the suffering and death due to cancer?

NCI has established an ambitious goal of eliminating the suffering and death due to cancer by 2015 by sustaining and integrating progress in the discovery, development, and delivery of more effective interventions based on molecular mechanisms of cancer. Dr. von Eschenbach explains that while the elimination of suffering and death due to cancer may not be fully achievable by 2010, there would be significant progress toward narrowing the gap between 2015 and 2010.

Read the article in the July 19, 2005 edition of the NCI Cancer Bulletin.

Posted by Dusty Weaver on September 26th, 2005
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President’s Cancer Panel Meets to Discuss Recommendations

The President’s Cancer Panel held two meetings in Washington, D.C., on August 25 and 26 to follow up on specific recommendations made in its 2003-2004 annual report, Living Beyond Cancer: Finding a New Balance, which identified and addressed critical challenges faced by cancer survivors across their life spans. The Panel considered the adoption of several of the recommendations vital to the National Cancer Program, prompting them to convene these meetings to assess progress. Key stakeholders and decision makers gathered to identify the steps needed to advance the Panel’s recommendations.

The Panel will hold two additional meetings on October 24 and 25 to discuss recommendations from the 2004-2005 report, Translating Research into Cancer Care: Delivering on the Promise. For additional information, visit http://pcp.cancer.gov, or call 301-451-9399.

Posted by Dusty Weaver on September 24th, 2005
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