Cancer Funding Cuts, By the Numbers

Since January 2025, federal funding to cancer research and related programs has faced a dual threat. Massive outright cuts, paired with uncertainty and delays on previously approved funding, have already set back US cancer researchers at dozens of universities. Unfortunately, there is little hope for clarity in the months ahead. 

Federal Funding Cuts Halt Research Efforts

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has suffered a dramatic cut in funding and staffing. First, the current administration announced a 15% cap on all grants for indirect costs, which include line items like facility infrastructure and maintenance. Previously, indirect costs were typically covered between 25% to 70%, resulting in massive funding shortages.

In the first three months of 2025, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee committed estimates that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), saw approximately $2.7 billion in cuts to research grants alone. Accessing existing funding has become more difficult, too, with NIH grant rejections more than doubling. To date, more than 2,5000 NIH applications have been denied. Through May 2025, 777 previously funded or authorized grants were terminated. Those account for an additional $1.9 billion in medical research funding. 

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Funding Shortages Compounded by Labor Shortages

On March 27, the HHS announced over 10,000 termination notices within the department. Incredibly, as many as 20% were announced as errors. The mass layoffs of late March were expanded by a 40% reduction in NIH funding for the 2026 fiscal year, along with a plan to consolidate the NIH’s 27 institutes into just 8. 

These cuts are already having a negative impact on the institute’s operations. Staffers in Maryland first reported delays associated with staffing cuts in July, many of which were associated with delays in sourcing essential equipment and specimens for research. Antecedently, HHS and NIH are transitioning to industry roles due to employment uncertainty. Funding cuts, turnover, and uncertainty may ultimately put the oncology ecosystem in jeopardy. 

Race-based Funding At Increased Risk

These challenges are inflating the already expensive costs of conducting research in the US. Paired with threats of deeper cuts or punitive actions from the administration, many oncology programs have been forced to shift away from equity-focused research. Instead of investigating disparate outcomes among ethnicities, researchers have had to expand their work to broader socioeconomic or environmental drivers, rather than the often more relevant genetic differences that impact rates of certain cancer types. 

No Shortage of Resilience

Despite the clear impact these actions have already had on cancer research, organizations like Less Cancer and many, many others remain committed to the cause. Cost-effective programs focused on cancer education, as well as related efforts like healthy school food and access to care, remain publicly popular, if not a high priority in today’s political climate. It’s more important than ever to take a proactive role in local and state public health programs, from flu and COVID vaccinations to funding local clinics.

Play a role in continuing cancer prevention with a donation to Less Cancer today.