II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2358 

To require a study on women and lung cancer, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2018 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require a study on women and lung cancer, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women and Lung Can5 cer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) According to the American Cancer Society, 

9 in the United States, approximately 193 women die 


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1 each day of lung cancer, or about one woman every 

2 7 minutes. 

3 (2) Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer 

4 death among women. 

5 (3) The American Cancer Society estimates 

6 that 70,500 women will die of lung cancer in 2018. 

7 (4) Studies have shown a higher incidence rate 

8 of lung cancer for women who were never smokers 

9 compared to men who were never smokers. 

10 (5) According to the 2014 report, ‘‘The Health 

11 Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A 

12 Report of the Surgeon General, 2014’’, the relative 

13 risk of developing lung cancer increased tenfold 

14 among female smokers between 1959 and 2010. 

15 (6) According to the American Cancer Society, 

16 approximately 40 percent of lung cancers are adeno17 carcinoma, a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, 

18 which is the most common type of cancer seen in 

19 non-smokers and is more common in women than in 

20 men. 

21 (7) Exposure to radon accounts for approxi22 mately 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year 

23 and is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smok24 ers. 


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1 (8) A Government Accountability Office report 

2 published on October 22, 2015, called for the Na3 tional Institutes of Health to do more in evaluating 

4 gender differences in research. 

5 (9) Additional research strategies and clinical 

6 trials are necessary to explore the differences in lung 

7 cancer risk factors, incidence, and treatment re8 sponse in women, and to address the disparate im9 pact of lung cancer on women who have never 

10 smoked. 

11 (10) Lung cancer screening, which can detect 

12 lung cancer at its earliest, most curable stage, is a 

13 covered service available without cost-sharing for 

14 those at high risk. 

15 (11) Published peer-reviewed actuarial studies 

16 indicate that lung cancer screening individuals at 

17 high risk is cost-effective. 

18 (12) The National Framework of Excellence in 

19 Lung Cancer Screening and Continuum of Care, 

20 launched in 2012, demonstrated that lung cancer 

21 screening can be safely and effectively carried out in 

22 community hospital settings around the Nation. 

23 (13) Information on the impact of lung cancer 

24 on women and the importance of early detection 


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1 should be incorporated into all relevant public health 

2 awareness campaigns. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING WOMEN AND 

4 LUNG CANCER. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) there is a disparate impact of lung cancer 

7 on women and, in particular, on women who have 

8 never smoked; 

9 (2) additional research strategies to explore the 

10 differences in women with respect to lung cancer 

11 risk factors, incidence, histology, and response to 

12 treatment are justified and necessary; 

13 (3) the implementation of lung cancer preven14 tive services for women should be accelerated; and 

15 (4) the public health agencies of the Federal 

16 Government should coordinate public education and 

17 awareness programs on the impact of lung cancer on 

18 women and the importance of early detection. 


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1 SEC. 4. STUDY TO EVALUATE AND MAKE RECOMMENDA2 TIONS FOR THE ACCELERATION OF RE3 SEARCH ON WOMEN AND LUNG CANCER, 

4 GREATER ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE SERV5 ICES, AND STRATEGIC PUBLIC AWARENESS 

6 AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 

9 and Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct an inter10 agency study to evaluate the status of, and make rec11 ommendations for increased— 

12 (1) research on women and lung cancer; 

13 (2) access to lung cancer preventive services; 

14 and 

15 (3) strategic public awareness and education 

16 campaigns on lung cancer. 

17 (b) CONTENT.—The study and recommendations 

18 under subsection (a) shall include— 

19 (1) a review and comprehensive report on the 

20 outcomes of previous research, the status of existing 

21 research activities, and knowledge gaps related to 

22 women and lung cancer in all agencies of the Fed23 eral Government; 

24 (2) specific recommendations for a collabo25 rative, interagency, multidisciplinary, and innovative 

26 research program, that would— 


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1 (A) encourage innovative approaches to 

2 eliminate knowledge gaps in research; 

3 (B) evaluate environmental and genomic 

4 factors that may be related to the etiology of 

5 lung cancer in women; and 

6 (C) foster advances in imaging technology 

7 to improve risk assessment, diagnosis, treat8 ment, and the simultaneous application of other 

9 preventive services; 

10 (3) recommendations for the development of a 

11 national lung cancer screening strategy with suffi12 cient infrastructure and personnel resources to ex13 pand access to such screening, particularly among 

14 underserved populations; and 

15 (4) recommendations for the development of a 

16 national public education and awareness campaign 

17 on women and lung cancer and the importance of 

18 early detection of lung cancer. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the 

22 study conducted under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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