Saying they were not asking for a lot of money compared to what is being spent in just a few days in the war in Kosovo, officials of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) called on Congress this month to double the National Cancer Institute's budget to $5 billion for fiscal year 2000 and increase it 20 percent per year for the succeeding four years. Such a boost would increase the federal government's annual investment in cancer research to $10 billion in five years.
The plea came at the end of the AACR's annual meeting, April 10-14 in Philadelphia, at which new research findings were presented and public forums featured opportunities for members of the public to "ask the experts" about cancer research issues. AACR leaders briefed journalists on their quest for increased funding on the final day of the meeting.
"We have been caught in the baby boomer ...
