[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4080-S4081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 755. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize 
the Director of the National Cancer Institute to make grants for the 
discovery and validation of biomarkers for use in risk stratification 
for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, as we engage in the debate on health care 
reform, it is critical that we address the need to invest in health 
research and innovation to spur the development of new treatments and 
cures for diseases. Today, I am proud to introduce two bills, S. 755 
and S. 756, that would direct Federal investment in new programs that 
would develop tools to detect ovarian and prostate cancers.
  We know that early and reliable detection of these cancers can save 
lives. These bills make sure we have the tools we need to catch these 
cancers early, when they can be treated thereby significantly 
increasing survival rates.
  First, the Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act provides funding for 
research directed toward the development of reliable screening 
techniques for ovarian cancer--a critical investment in the future of 
any woman who will face ovarian cancer.
  Though only one in 72 women will face ovarian cancer in their 
lifetime, this disease ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women and 
causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive 
system. In the last year alone, the National Cancer Institute, NCI, 
estimated there were 15,520 deaths from ovarian cancer in the U.S.
  For many years, ovarian cancer has been called the ``silent killer'' 
because too often women are diagnosed with this disease too late to be 
saved. But when ovan cancer is diagnosed early, more than 93 percent of 
women survive longer than 5 years. Because there is currently no 
effective screening test available, 4 out of 5 ovarian cancer cases in 
the U.S. are diagnosed in the later stages, when a woman's chance of 
surviving more than 5 years drops to 46 percent.

[[Page S4081]]

  The Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act would authorize NCI to make 
grants for public or nonprofit entities to establish research centers 
focused on ovarian cancer biomarkers. Biomarkers are biochemical 
features within the body that can be used to measure the progress of a 
disease and predict the effects of treatment. This legislation also 
authorizes funding for a national clinical trial that will enroll at-
risk women in a study to determine the clinical utility of using these 
validated ovarian cancer biomarkers.
  The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, the American College of 
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, 
and the American College of Surgeons have all joined together in 
support of this research developing tools to detect ovarian cancer 
early, because they know it is critical to improving the rate of 
survival for women struck by this disease.
  The second bill, the Prostate Imaging, Research and Men's Education 
Act, addresses the urgent need for the development of new technologies 
to detect and diagnose prostate cancer.
  Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the U.S., and the 
second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men--striking 1 in 
every 6 men. In 2008, it was estimated that more than 186,000 men were 
diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 28,000 men died from the 
disease.
  The Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act, or PRIME 
Act, would 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 to 
expand prostate cancer research, and provides the resources to develop 
innovative advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection, 
diagnosis, and treatment.
  In addition, the PRIME Act would create a national campaign to 
increase awareness about the need for prostate cancer screening, and 
works with the Offices of Minority Health at HHS and the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that this information reaches 
the men most at risk from this disease.
  The PRIME Act will also promote research that improves prostate 
cancer screening blood tests. According to a 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 
undergo 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 initiatives in research and education can be the key to 
diagnosing prostate or ovarian cancers earlier and more accurately. 
These two bills would strengthen our efforts to fight these diseases.
  These bills are of vital importance to thousands of men and women 
across our great Nation, and the families and friends who are concerned 
for their continued health. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues in the House and Senate to get these bills passed as soon as 
possible.
                                 ______