I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4927 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to advance medical research and 

treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, 

and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2006 

Ms. PRYCE of Ohio (for herself, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, and Mr. CANNON) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to advance medical 

research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure 

patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer 

database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conquer Childhood 

3 Cancer Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) Cancer kills more children than any other 

7 disease. 

8 (2) Each year cancer kills more children be9 tween 1 and 20 years of age than asthma, diabetes, 

10 cystic fibrosis, and AIDS, combined. 

11 (3) Every year, over 12,500 young people are 

12 diagnosed with cancer. 

13 (4) Each year about 2,300 children and teen14 agers die from cancer. 

15 (5) One in every 330 Americans develops cancer 

16 before age 20. 

17 (6) Some forms of childhood cancer have proven 

18 to be so resistant that even in spite of the great re19 search strides made, most of those children die. Up 

20 to 75 percent of the children with cancer can now 

21 be cured. 

22 (7) Brain tumors are now the most common 

23 cause of cancer-related death in children and are the 

24 most common solid tumor of childhood. Neuro25 blastoma is the second most common pediatric solid 

26 tumor (after brain tumors) and represents a major 


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1 therapeutic challenge. More than 50 percent of chil2 dren with metastatic disease still die despite aggres3 sive, toxic chemotherapy regimens. 

4 (8) The causes of most childhood cancers are 

5 not yet known. 

6 (9) Childhood cancers are mostly those of the 

7 white blood cells (leukemias), brain, bone, the lym8 phatic system, and tumors of the muscles, kidneys, 

9 and nervous system. Each of these behaves dif10 ferently, but all are characterized by an uncontrolled 

11 proliferation of abnormal cells. 

12 (10) Eighty percent of the children who are di13 agnosed with cancer have disease which has already 

14 spread to distant sites in the body. 

15 (11) Ninety percent of children with a form of 

16 pediatric cancer are treated at one of the more than 

17 200 Children’s Oncology Group member institutions 

18 throughout the United States. 

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

20 It is the purpose of this Act to authorize appropria21 tions to— 

22 (1) encourage and expand the support for bio23 medical research programs of the existing National 

24 Cancer Institute-designated multi-center national in25 frastructure for pediatric cancer research; 


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1 (2) establish a population-based national child2 hood cancer database (the Children’s Cancer Re3 search Network) to evaluate incidence trends of 

4 childhood cancers and to enable the investigations of 

5 genetic epidemiology in order to identify causes to 

6 aid in development of prevention strategies; 

7 (3) provide informational services to patients 

8 and families affected by childhood cancer; 

9 (4) support the development, construction and 

10 operation of a comprehensive online public informa11 tion system on childhood cancers and services avail12 able to families; and 

13 (5) establish a fellowship program in pediatric 

14 cancer research to foster clinical and translational 

15 research career development in pediatric oncologists 

16 in the early stages of their career. 

17 SEC. 4. PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH AND AWARENESS. 

18 Subpart 1 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 

19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285 et seq.) is amended by adding 

20 at the end thereof the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 417E. PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH AND AWARE22 NESS. 

23 ‘‘(a) PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH.— 

24 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL PROGRAMS OF RESEARCH EXCEL25 LENCE IN PEDIATRIC CANCERS.—The Director of 


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1 NIH, acting through the National Cancer Institute, 

2 shall establish special programs of research excel3 lence in the area of pediatric cancers. Such pro4 grams shall demonstrate a balanced approach to re5 search cause, prognosis, prevention, diagnosis, and 

6 treatment of pediatric cancers that foster translation 

7 of basic research findings into innovative interven8 tions applied to patients. 

9 ‘‘(2) FELLOWSHIP OF EXCELLENCE IN PEDI10 ATRIC CANCER RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall de11 velop a grant mechanism for the establishment, in 

12 cooperation with the National Cancer Institute-sup13 ported pediatric cancer clinical trial groups, of Re14 search Fellowships in Pediatric Cancer to support 

15 adequate numbers of pediatric focused clinical and 

16 translational investigators thereby facilitating con17 tinuous momentum of research excellence. 

18 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER REGISTRY.— 

19 The Director of NIH shall award a grant for the operation 

20 of a population-based national childhood cancer database, 

21 the Childhood Cancer Research Network (CCRN), of the 

22 Children’s Oncology Group, in cooperation with the Na23 tional Cancer Institute. 

24 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC AWARENESS OF PEDIATRIC CANCERS

25 AND AVAILABLE TREATMENTS AND RESEARCH.—The 


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1 Secretary shall award grants to recognized childhood can2 cer professional and advocacy organizations for the expan3 sion and widespread implementation of activities to raise 

4 public awareness of currently available information, treat5 ment, and research with the intent to ensure access to best 

6 available therapies for pediatric cancers. 

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011. 

10 Funds appropriated under this section shall remain avail11 able until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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