Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Childhood cancer research in the United States is primarily funded through four different mechanisms:

1. Federal funding through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and key legislative and executive actions.
2. Private/nonprofit funding via foundations, charities, and family-led organizations.
3. Institutional funding from hospitals, academic medical centers, and universities.
4. Industry funding via commercial pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

While this range of funding sources may suggest an abundance of opportunities, the reality is stark. In the United States, childhood cancer research is vastly underfunded by the federal government as compared to adult and overall cancer research. Often the statistic of “less than 4%” is shared and used to describe the portion of the federal budget dedicated to childhood cancer research.²¹³ This number is often cited as representing the estimated share of the National Cancer Institute budget directed toward childhood cancer research. However, it is not a formal earmark and is based on analyses of funded grants, which can vary over time depending on methodology. In addition, all cancer research—whether specifically for adults or kids—could have a meaningful impact in the scientific community’s understanding of childhood cancer and could benefit from more funding from the Department of Defense and other legislation like the STAR Act.²¹⁴

Regardless of how this all adds up, childhood cancer research is underfunded and kids, who have many, many years of life ahead of them, are left without sufficient research funding.

RACE Act

Before the RACE Act, drug companies could skip pediatric studies for new cancer drugs, even if those drugs targeted the same molecular pathways or mutations in both adult and pediatric cancers. The RACE act now requires drug companies to study drugs if there is an indication for pediatrics, opening the door for more clinical trials and faster access for kids.