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Trump Administration Accelerates Cancer Research Pullback With Grant Cancellations and Deep NCI Cut Proposal

Investigative reports describe an abrupt retrenchment that researchers say threatens long-term U.S. biomedical capacity.

Overview

  • New reporting finds the administration has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer-related grants and contracts, suspended or delayed payments for hundreds of millions more, and cited DEI concerns to justify some actions.
  • The White House budget proposal seeks to cut the National Cancer Institute to $4.5 billion from $7.2 billion, a reduction of more than 37 percent.
  • Hundreds of government employees tied to the federal cancer-research system have been terminated, disrupting program continuity and oversight.
  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ended federal support for mRNA research, despite clinical trials indicating survival gains from mRNA-based cancer vaccines, according to the coverage.
  • Futurism, citing the New York Times, reports a $2.7 billion reduction to the NIH in the first three months of the term, with layoffs and study freezes compounding concerns about a potential talent exodus and stalled progress.