The American Association for Cancer Research released its 2026 progress report, celebrating landmark breakthroughs—including 11 new FDA-approved therapeutics—while warning that cancer science faces an inflection point due to funding threats. Concurrently, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality discontinued over 150 nationwide grants, including $4.5 million at the University of Pittsburgh. This has sparked a bipartisan push from Pennsylvania Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick demanding answers from HHS.
AACR cancer progress report findings
- ▪The American Association for Cancer Research released its 16th annual Cancer Progress Report on September 16, 2026, warning that cancer science faces an inflection point due to funding threats.
- ▪The overall cancer death rate in the United States declined by 35% between 1991 and 2024, resulting in 4.8 million fewer cancer deaths, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.
- ▪The American Association for Cancer Research estimated that over 2.1 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and more than 626,000 people will die from cancer in the United States in 2026.
Recent FDA cancer treatment approvals
- ▪The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first proteolysis-targeting chimera for breast cancer patients and the first chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for marginal zone lymphoma patients between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
- ▪The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 11 new anticancer therapeutics between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, including the first immune checkpoint inhibitor for ovarian cancer.
Federal research funding cuts
- ▪The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality discontinued more than 150 research awards nationwide in July 2026, aligning spending with Trump administration priorities.
- ▪The American Association for Cancer Research urged Congress to provide at least $51.303 billion for the National Institutes of Health and $7.999 billion for the National Cancer Institute in fiscal year 2027.
- ▪The American Association for Cancer Research urged Congress to block the Office of Management and Budget from implementing its proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, which has been delayed through December 11, 2026.
Pennsylvania university grant cancellations
- ▪The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality discontinued two multi-year research grants totaling approximately $4.5 million at the University of Pittsburgh in July 2026.
- ▪The discontinued Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grants in Pennsylvania included research on advanced cancer patients seeking pain relief and a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia study on identifying child abuse.
Bipartisan congressional response
- ▪In August 2026, 24 Democratic senators, excluding Senator John Fetterman, urged the Department of Health and Human Services to reverse the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant cancellations.
- ▪Pennsylvania Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick sent a joint letter asking the Department of Health and Human Services to brief their offices by September 25, 2026, regarding the canceled research grants.
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