[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S8708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 1734. A bill to provide for prostate cancer imaging research and 
education; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Prostate 
Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act. This important legislation 
addresses the urgent need for the development of new technologies to 
detect and diagnose prostate cancer, and for the education of the 
dangers of this deadly disease.
  I thank my colleagues, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Senator John 
Kerry, for joining me as original cosponsors of this important 
legislation.
  Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the United 
States, and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men. 
This cancer strikes one in every six men, making it even more prevalent 
than breast cancer, which strikes one in every seven women.
  In 2007, more than 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate 
cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease. One new 
case occurs every 2.5 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 
19 minutes.
  The Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act, also known 
as the PRIME Act, will mirror the investment the Federal Government 
made in advanced imaging technologies, which led to life-saving 
breakthroughs in detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. 
This bill directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, HHS, to expand research on prostate cancer, and provides the 
resources to develop innovative advanced imaging technologies for 
prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
  The Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act would also 
create a national campaign conducted through HHS to increase awareness 
about the need for prostate cancer screening, and the development of 
better screening techniques. Since African American men are 56 percent 
more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and 
nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease, this campaign will 
work with the Offices of Minority Health at HHS and the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that this effort will reach 
the men most at risk from this disease.
  The Prostate Research, Imaging and Men's Education Act will also 
promote research that improves prostate cancer screening blood tests. 
According to a recent National Cancer Institute study, current blood 
tests result in false-negative reassurances and numerous false-positive 
alarms. Some 15 percent of men with normal blood test levels actually 
have prostate cancer. Even when levels are abnormal, some 88 percent of 
men end up not having prostate cancer but undergoing unnecessary 
biopsies. Furthermore, the prostate is one of the last organs in a 
human body where biopsies are performed blindly, which can miss cancer 
even when multiple samples are taken.
  Government initiative in research and education can be the key to 
diagnosing prostate cancer earlier and more accurately. This 
legislation would strengthen our efforts to fight this disease.
  As June is Men's Health Month, this is an ideal time to draw 
attention to the issue affecting so many men across the Nation. I ask 
all my fellow Senators to join with me in ensuring the health of our 
husbands, brothers, sons, and friends against this disease.
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