TAMPA, Fla. — As Bay News 9 continues special coverage of Stand Up to Cancer, we take a look at the call to increase funding research for pediatric cancer.
Congressman Gus Bilirakis is pushing for legislation that will do that, he supports the Gabriella Miller Kids First Act 2.0.
It would reauthorize and increase funding for the National Institutes of Health’s Kids First initiative. It supports life-saving research of childhood cancer treatments.
The legislation is ready for a floor vote when Congress resumes in September.
Dr. Cassandra Josephson, Director of the Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, says funding is critical.
“Children really are left out of many, many studies,” said Josephson. “There’s less than 8% of funding that is given to childhood cancer and that limits the ability to do clinical trials to develop drugs that are specific for some of the specific cancers that hit children.”
Josephson was recently appointed as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on blood and Tissue Safety and Availability.
The experts advise on safety issues concerning the use of blood, organs, transplantation and transfusion.
Source: Johns Hopkins doctor says funding is critical for pediatric cancer research
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