By Peter J. O’Dwyer, MD (left)
and Mitchell D. Schnall, MD, PhD

The research environment continues to be in a state of flux, as layoffs in essential parts of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the rest of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) continue to mount. The possibility of additional attrition involves the loss of staff needed for such a large research enterprise to function efficiently and effectively. For all their wonderful qualities, the doctors we work with in the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) and Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) are not trained to perform all the supportive work managed by their team members. For the research to continue, we need the whole team. 

As a former researcher in CTEP, Dr. O’Dwyer’s experience was of a dedicated multidisciplinary group, each bringing expertise—clinical oncology, clinical trials, pharmacology and pharmacy, biology and biostatistics—to both reviews and implementation. Colleagues were driven to deliver the research and to advance cancer treatment. Then, as now, the scarce funding was managed efficiently, thoughtfully, and even-handedly. 

Recognizing the importance of the NCI in cancer clinical research, the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Cooperative Group Chairs have released an open letter to Congress, and specifically to the Appropriations Committee. Building on the note we shared with you some months ago, this letter summarizes the contributions of the NCTN to the welfare of enormous numbers of patients. These patients are now living their lives, cancer-free or on maintenance therapy that allows them a good quality of life, thanks to interventions defined by our research. If we believe in this research, then let us try to support it with the help of our patients.

Click here to read the full letter.

In case you missed it, a CBS Sunday Morning piece relevant to cancer research aired in late June. The piece is led by Ted Koppel (what an unmistakable voice from the past!) and focuses on the cancer research leaders Drs. Elizabeth Jaffee (Johns Hopkins University) and George Weiner (University of Iowa). Together, they make the detailed case that walking away from cancer research at a time when huge strides are being made every day would be an unfathomable dereliction of responsibility. Koppel illustrates the impact suffered by an NIH patient of Dr. Steven Rosenberg, pioneer of immunotherapy at NCI, and leaves us with a chilling outcome. Share this story with family and colleagues who may not be aware of how the funding is trending. We need cancer research to revert to being bipartisan, as befits a disease that takes no account of the politics of those it touches.

Read the August 2025 issue here.