Rep. Wild Introduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Strengthen Research & Treatment Development for Brain Cancers

Today, U.S. Representative Susan Wild introduced the Bolstering Research And Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen research and treatment development for brain tumors and to improve the accessibility of brain tumor health care. U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), and John Joyce (R-PA) joined Rep. Wild and Senator Blumenthal in introducing the bicameral legislation.

"I am proud to be the House lead of the BRAIN Act, which will enable our medical community to research groundbreaking treatments and innovative systems of care for the millions of Americans affected by brain tumors," said Congresswoman Susan Wild. "American families - including my own - have been impacted by this terrible disease for far too long. I'll never stop fighting for a cure, for the American children, adults, and seniors currently living with brain tumors, and to honor my mother, who I lost to brain cancer in 2014."

"Malignant brain tumors remain a vicious and persistent enemy for many Americans-impacting more than one million people in the United States today," said Senator Blumenthal. "With incidence and survival rates remaining stagnant for decades, our bipartisan, bicameral BRAIN Act is needed to advance research and treatment for these highly deadly cancers and defeat brain tumors once and for all."

"The Bolstering Research And Innovation Now Act marks a pivotal advancement in our battle against brain tumors and rare cancers," said Congressman Fitzpatrick. "For far too long, patients and their families in my community and around the world have endured the harrowing effects of these devastating diseases with little hope for effective solutions and results. Our bipartisan initiative takes a critical step forward in revolutionizing research and treatment by accelerating innovation, enhancing collaboration, and elevating patient care through increased transparency, substantial funding, and comprehensive education. By paving the way for transformative discoveries, the BRAIN Act brings us closer to unlocking a cure and defeating cancer once and for all."

"This is a watershed moment for the brain tumor community," said David Arons, President & Chief Executive Officer, National Brain Tumor Society. "The BRAIN Act represents the first piece of legislation introduced in Congress specifically drafted to address a number of the unique challenges and opportunities facing patients with brain and other rare and deadly cancers, their care partners and families, medical providers, and the research working to find better treatments and cures. We thank Senators Blumenthal, Barrasso, Reed, and Rounds, as well as Representatives Wild, Fitzpatrick, Trahan, and Joyce, for realizing the major unmet needs of this community and championing policies that bolster research efforts, accelerate the quest for cures, and innovate the way healthcare is delivered for cancer patients and survivors."

"In 2021, I lost my 28-year-old daughter, Jess, to glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive brain cancer," said Jean Dalstad, a volunteer brain tumor patient advocate from Lehigh County. "We scoured the country and tried dozens of different treatments for Jess, however none of them worked and many of them caused her physical and mental challenges. None of the drugs were actually brain cancer treatments, because she had already tried the standard chemotherapy for glioblastoma, which was developed over 40 years ago. I've devoted my life since her passing to advocating for brain cancer patients, as I know all too well the need for better treatments and better quality of life. I support the BRAIN Act because it would enact policies that are timely, comprehensive, and complementary toward advancing innovative treatments of brain and other rare and deadly cancers. I'm very encouraged that my Congresswoman, Representative Wild, is leading this effort in the U.S. House of Representatives."

Today, more than one million people in the United States are living with a primary brain tumor. Another 94,000 more will likely be diagnosed in 2024, including an estimated 4,054 people in Pennsylvania. Despite major improvements made in the treatment of other cancers in recent years, incidence and survival rates for malignant brain tumors have remained stagnant for 45 years, with a five-year relative survival rate of only 35.7 percent.

In order to reduce mortality rates and make meaningful progress against brain tumors, better-funded and collaborative research is needed. The BRAIN Act takes a comprehensive, complementary approach to meet this need and further advance research for these aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers.

Specifically, the BRAIN Act:

1. Increases transparency of federally-funded biobank collections so that researchers are aware of others who possess samples that might be shared to enable important research.

1. Sufficiently resources the National Cancer Institute's Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network, so that it can realize its promise of vetting treatments and completing innovative early-phase clinical trials.

1. Enables team science to advance immunotherapy research (CAR-T) engineered to attack brain cancer cells.

1. Directs the Centers for Disease Control to conduct a public education campaign around the importance of clinical trials and biomarker testing in cancer treatment.

1. Augments and expands funding to develop innovative systems of care models for brain tumor survivors.

1. Directs FDA to issue guidance to ensure brain tumor and other rare and recalcitrant cancer patient access to clinical trials evaluating treatments for other diseases.

Bill text for the BRAIN Act is available here. A section-by-section is available hereand a one-page summary of the bill is available here.

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Issues:Health Care