The Department of Defense (DOD) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) has received $110 million in Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) from Congress – a $20 million increase from FY19 – thanks to the efforts of advocates and organizations like the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
This increased funding also means an anticipated increase in the number of research proposals for the FY20 PRCRP topic areas, which include mesothelioma; bladder cancer; blood cancers; brain cancer; colorectal cancer; esophageal cancer (new); head and neck cancer (new); immunotherapy; liver cancer; metastatic cancers (new); neuroblastoma; pediatric brain tumors; pediatric, adolescent and young adult cancers; and stomach cancer.
Advocacy for increased mesothelioma research funding is central to the Meso Foundation’s mission of eradicating mesothelioma and the suffering caused by it. Every year, the Foundation brings together the mesothelioma community – patients, their families, caregivers, medical professionals, researchers and those who have lost a loved one – to educate leaders and lawmakers on the devastation caused by the disease. As part of its advocacy, the Foundation succeeded in adding mesothelioma to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program’s (CDMRP) funding topic areas in 2008 on the basis of military relevance. These efforts have resulted in nearly $22.5 million dollars in mesothelioma research funding through the CDMRP.
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to eradicate mesothelioma and end this national tragedy. Its programs include the funding of promising and peer-reviewed research, education, support and advocacy. The organization strives to bring together thought-leaders in the field to identify the most direct path to a cure.
