[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 96 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4457-S4458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL CANCER RESEARCH MONTH

 Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, we recognized May as 
National Cancer Research Month. This year, more than 1.6 million 
Americans will receive a cancer diagnosis and more than half a million 
Americans will lose their battle with cancer. However, due to the 
discoveries made by cancer researchers, people are living with cancer 
longer and, increasingly, are beating it.
  Cancer researchers--world-class scientists and clinicians--are making 
invaluable contributions to our health care knowledge. The National 
Institute of Health, NIH, and the National Cancer Institute, NCI, are 
the leading funders and conductors of biomedical research in the 
world--including cancer research. According to Families USA, 
approximately seven jobs are created per research grant and each dollar 
of NIH grant money generates about $2.21 of new business activity.
  In fiscal year 2011, Ohio scientists and physicians attracted more 
than $710 million in grant funding, including $104 million dedicated to 
cancer research.
  Ohio is on the cutting edge of cancer research thanks to world 
renowned medical institutions, including Ohio's two NCI-designated 
cancer centers: the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Ohio 
State University Comprehensive Cancer Center--the James Cancer Hospital 
and Solove Research Institute.
  The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, CCC, brings together the cancer 
research efforts at Case Western Reserve University, University 
Hospitals Case Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic. Through this 
collaboration, the brightest minds at Case, University Hospital, and 
the Cleveland Clinic partner on cutting-edge cancer research bringing 
together more than 300 scientists and physicians to work on research 
projects supported by more than $100 million in annual funding.
  Case CCC also was awarded a Specialized Programs of Research 
Excellence, SPORE, grant--to promote translational cancer research.
  The Case SPORE grant will allow Case to research gastrointestinal, 
GI, cancers. GI cancers are a leading cause of cancer deaths in men and 
women as well as disproportionately affect African Americans. African 
Americans are more likely to have--and die--from colon cancer. 
Additionally, the onset of colon cancer occurs at an earlier age for 
African Americans. Of the four projects that would be funded by the 
Case GI SPORE, several include a research emphasis on colon cancer in 
African Americans.
  Case is also the lead center for the Barrett's Esophagus Research 
Network. This multiple center network allows for collaboration to 
develop a better understanding of Barrett's esophagus disorder and its 
correlation with esophageal cancer.
  The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, also referred 
to as ``the James,'' was the Midwest's first fully dedicated cancer 
hospital and research institute.
  The James researchers are drawn from 12 of Ohio State's 18 colleges 
to collaborate and study ways to prevent and treat cancer, including 
the ways genetics influences cancer development and how targeted 
therapies based on molecular genetics can promote treatment.
  Research at the James has expanded our knowledge and understanding of 
cancer treatment. Researchers at the James found that 1 in 35 people 
with colon cancer carry a genetic disease called Lynch syndrome. Of the 
patients who had this gene mutation, each had on average three family 
members with the mutation.
  Thanks to the outstanding research conducted by the James, the early 
detection of the mutation means that through regular colonoscopies, 
people with Lynch syndrome will never develop colon cancer. This is 
remarkable-- through genetic advances, people can beat cancer before it 
starts.
  OSU scientists are also developing a medicated patch that releases a 
cancer-preventing drug onto precancerous oral lesions.
  Other scientists are conducting clinical trials for new drugs to 
treat patients with advanced or recurring breast, colon, lung, or 
prostate cancer. These drugs may offer new hope to patients who have 
exhausted most--if not all--existing therapeutic options.
  The James and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is expanding its 
cancer research as the result of a $100 million grant made available 
from the health care reform legislation.
  The funding has spurred the largest construction project in 
university history, which will expand the Wexner Medical Center, 
including the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. 
Slated to be completed by 2014, the expansion includes a new cancer 
hospital, critical care tower, outpatient center, research 
laboratories, and classrooms--all designed to advance the medical 
center's mission to

[[Page S4458]]

improve people's lives through innovation in patient care, education, 
and research.
  This project put more than 5,000 Ohioans to work constructing the 
facility and is expected to create 10,000 full-time jobs by 2014.
  The University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute is another Ohio 
institution making strides in combating cancer.
  UC's Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology is 
partnering with the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati 
Children's Hospital to explore gene therapy for the treatment of 
pediatric cancers and blood disorders.
  I applaud the groundbreaking work conducted every day in Ohio and 
across the country to increase prevention, improve treatment, and 
extend life-expectancies--for all constituencies.
  Even though National Cancer Research Month has come to an end, I urge 
my Senate colleagues to continue to support cancer research. While 
researchers have made incredible strides in cancer research, only a 
mere 5 percent of Americans with pancreatic and other cancers have a 5-
year survival rate. Now is the time to strengthen the investment in the 
revolutionary work of cancer researchers across the country.

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