Federal funding changes have slowed cancer disparities research : NPR

Key Points:

• Rural Americans have an 18% higher overall cancer mortality rate, and Black women are 35% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, highlighting persistent cancer disparities in the U.S., according to a recent AACR report.
• Federal policy changes and funding cuts, notably under the 2025 Trump administration executive order targeting DEI research, have disrupted about 93% of cancer disparity researchers, causing halted trials, reduced grant applications, and terminations of major NIH grants totaling over $317 million.
• Researchers report unprecedented funding cuts have forced layoffs, project refocusing, and slowed grant renewals, raising concerns that reduced support for disparities research will worsen patient outcomes and stall progress made over the past decades.
• Despite narrowing some racial cancer mortality gaps since the 1990s, significant disparities remain, such as veterans facing 72% higher skin cancer odds and rural Americans having a 36% greater lung cancer mortality rate, with researchers emphasizing that these inequities are largely avoidable.
• Experts warn that cuts to cancer disparities research not only threaten advances in prevention and treatment but also jeopardize training and workforce development, potentially causing an academic brain drain and undermining future efforts to close cancer care gaps.