The national budget for 2025, proposed by President Trump at the beginning of his second term, slashed funding towards the National Cancer Institute (NCI), an organization largely responsible for ongoing cancer research in the United States.
The cuts largely took place between January and March 2025, reducing the budget for cancer research by over 31% compared to 2024. These cuts are expected to carry over into next year, resulting in a 37% decrease from 2024, a total of $2.7 billion in lost funding.
These cuts could negatively impact the cancer research taking place all over the country, already responsible for the cancellation of many clinical trials testing new medications and treatments.
Sneha Phadke (she/her), a medical oncologist at the University of Iowa, is grateful that the cuts have not yet reached the UI’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“The future of cancer care depends heavily on adequate funding to support development of novel therapies, diagnostic tests and public health programs that can help reduce the risk of new cancers and increase cancer screenings,” Phadke said.
The government is the largest source of funding for medical research centers all over the country. Without ample resources, the development of new therapies and diagnostic tests cannot occur.
“Disruptions in funding could stall innovation, delay testing of new treatments and patients who may benefit from these potential treatments may not be able to access the clinical trials,” Phadke said.
Medicaid is also undergoing extreme budget losses. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), the One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposed by President Trump includes funding cuts and changes in policy regarding Medicaid, health insurance, physicians’ payments, medical student loans and more. All these modifications threaten the accessibility of patients to the healthcare they need.
“I remain hopeful that alternative funding sources may fill the gap somewhat so that promising research can continue, but we will likely not understand the overall impact of the funding cuts for some time,” Phadke said.
