In yet another display of nihilistic budget-busting without any regard for the consequences, the Trump administration has cut the funding for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, an association of 16 academic centers and children's hospitals dedicated to trials of novel treatments for pediatric brain cancer.
They were informed without written confirmation that they would be ineligible to apply for their $4 million in funding by the National Cancer Institute, with no explanation other than a paragraph on the institute's website claiming that they are "optimizing resources" for "maximum impact."
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium has six active trials; five are related to treating high-risk cancers. "These are the ones that have very poor outcomes, often in relapsed patients who haven't responded to prior therapy, and patients for whom the chance of survival is very low," said Dr. John Prensner, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at the University of Michigan.
There is absolutely no good reason to cut their funding and throw away all this research into one of life's cruelest mysteries: why children get cancer and how we can save them.
Demand Trump restore funding for kids' cancer research!
