III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 245 

Designating July 17, 2019, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2019 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Ms. MCSALLY, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

MCCONNELL, and Mr. MARKEY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating July 17, 2019, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness 

Day’’. 

Whereas an estimated 13,310 new cases of glioblastoma will 

be diagnosed in the United States in 2019; 

Whereas glioblastoma is— 

(1) the most common malignant (cancerous) brain 

tumor, accounting for 47 percent of all primary malignant brain tumors; and 

(2) the most aggressive, complex, difficult to treat, 

and deadliest brain tumor; 

Whereas it is estimated that more than 15,000 people in the 

United States will succumb to glioblastoma every year; 

Whereas the 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is 

only 5.6 percent and the average survival for glioVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR245.ATS SR245

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•SRES 245 ATS 

blastoma patients is estimated to be only 12 to 18 

months; 

Whereas glioblastoma is described as a disease that affects 

the ‘‘essence of self’’, as the treatment and removal of 

glioblastoma presents significant challenges because of 

the uniquely complex and fragile nature of the brain, the 

primary organ in the human body that controls not only 

cognitive ability, but the actions of every organ and limb; 

Whereas brain cancer has— 

(1) the highest per-patient initial cost of care for 

any cancer group, with an annualized mean net cost of 

care approaching $150,000; and 

(2) the highest annualized mean net costs for lastyear-of-life care, relative to other cancers, at $135,000 to 

$210,000 (depending on age and gender) per patient; 

Whereas, although research advances may fuel the development of new treatments for glioblastoma, challenging obstacles to accelerating progress toward new treatments 

for glioblastoma remain, and there are no screening or 

early detection methods; 

Whereas, although glioblastoma was first described in medical 

and scientific literature in the 1920s, and despite its devastating prognosis, only 4 drugs and 1 medical device 

have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat glioblastoma since the 1920s, and the mortality rates associated with glioblastoma have changed little during the past 30 years; and 

Whereas there is a need for greater public awareness of glioblastoma, including both the urgent unmet medical need, 

as well as the opportunities for research and treatment 

advances for glioblastoma patients: Now, therefore, be it 


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•SRES 245 ATS 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates July 17, 2019, as ‘‘Glioblastoma 

3 Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages increased public awareness of 

5 glioblastoma; 

6 (3) honors those individuals who have lost their 

7 lives to that devastating disease or are currently liv8 ing with it; 

9 (4) supports efforts to develop better treat10 ments for glioblastoma that will improve the long11 term prognosis of individuals diagnosed with glio12 blastoma; 

13 (5) expresses its support for those individuals 

14 who are battling brain tumors, as well as the fami15 lies, friends, and caregivers of those individuals; and 

16 (6) urges a collaborative approach to brain 

17 tumor research, which is a promising means of ad18 vancing understanding of, and treatment for, glio19 blastoma. 

Æ 


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