U. may see more cancer funding

Cigarettes have been linked to cancer for years. Now tobacco companies may start paying to treat the disease -- and the University Cancer Center stands to reap substantial benefits. Under an item in President Bill Clinton's proposed 1999 budget, which was announced yesterday, the government would provide $750 million in funding for costs associated with experimental drug trials for Medicare patients. Medicare is the federal government's health-insurance program for the elderly. The money would come from an anticipated settlement with the major tobacco companies. The $368 billion settlement, negotiated by the states, would limit all future litigation against the companies as part of the agreement. Any such deal would have to be ratified by Congress, and the federal government would receive a share of the settlement. As a leader in cancer research -- and one of only 31 federally designated comprehensive cancer centers -- the Center stands to benefit from the proposal, although it is unclear exactly how much. John Glick, director of the Center, called the proposal "extraordinarily positive." The benefit from the proposal would come mostly in the form of a vastly expanded pool of patients eligible to participate in cancer treatment trials. People 65 and older account for about 60 percent of all cancer patients. Medicare, however, has not paid for the indirect costs of the research, which include blood work, X-rays and hospital care. The actual cost of the experimental medications used in a clinical trial is typically covered by the research grant for the trial. Medicare's refusal to pay for these costs has severely limited patients' access to potentially beneficial experimental treatments. Only senior citizens able to pay for such treatments out of their own pockets have been able to participate. Currently, about 3 percent of cancer patients participate in clinical trials. The new legislation, part of a proposal to increase spending on cancer research by $4.7 billion, would cover those indirect costs. The 65 percent increase in cancer-research funding over last year was announced yesterday by Vice President Al Gore, who said at a press conference that "we must invest more in the war against cancer." The victims of that war are the ultimate beneficiaries of the proposal, according to Glick. He noted that the funding will "encourage patients to join clinical trials which stand to benefit them tremendously." The legislation still needs to pass through Congress, and funding would not be available until next fall. Nonetheless, according to Glick, the National Institutes of Health will continue to prepare for disbursement of the funds "as if they're going to get the money." The Center is also positioning itself to take a more active role in cancer research involving senior citizens. The Center is hiring a new faculty member, whom Glick characterized as "very interested in senior patients," to focus on related research areas. Glick expects her work to be funded from the Center's budget for the time being.