III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 210 

Designating July 21, 2021, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2021 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. KELLY, Mr. COONS, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. WARNOCK) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating July 21, 2021, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness 

Day’’. 

Whereas approximately 13,000 new cases of glioblastoma will 

be diagnosed in the United States in 2021; 

Whereas glioblastoma is— 

(1) the most common malignant, cancerous brain 

tumor, accounting for approximately half of all primary 

malignant brain tumors; and 

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

and deadly type of brain tumor; 

Whereas it is estimated that more than 10,000 individuals in 

the United States will succumb to glioblastoma every 

year; 


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•SRES 210 ATS 

Whereas the 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is 

only 7.2 percent and the median length of survival for 

glioblastoma patients is only 8 months; 

Whereas glioblastoma is described as a disease that affects 

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

glioblastoma presents significant challenges due to the 

uniquely complex and fragile nature of the brain, the primary organ in the human body that controls not only 

cognitive ability but also the actions of every organ and 

limb; 

Whereas, relative to other types of cancers, brain cancer 

has— 

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

an annualized mean net cost of care approaching 

$150,000; and 

(2) the highest annualized mean net costs for lastyear-of-life care, with a cost of between $135,000 and 

$210,000 per patient, depending on the age and gender 

of a 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; 


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•SRES 210 ATS 

Whereas, as a promising first step since the first Glioblastoma Awareness Day, the National Cancer Institute 

established the Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘GTN’’) in 2020, as part 

of a national infrastructure to enhance and support the 

discovery and development of glioblastoma therapies, with 

an initial $6,000,000 available for multi-institutional 

GTN teams to drive therapeutic agents through pre-clinical studies and early-phase clinical trials necessary to 

rapidly evaluate potential treatments to advance toward 

cures and improved quality of life; and 

Whereas there is a need for greater public awareness of glioblastoma, including awareness of both— 

(1) the urgent unmet medical needs of glioblastoma 

patients; and 

(2) the opportunities for research and treatment advances for glioblastoma: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates July 21, 2021, as ‘‘Glioblastoma 

3 Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages increased public awareness of 

5 glioblastoma; 

6 (3) honors the individuals who have lost their 

7 lives to glioblastoma, a devastating disease, or are 

8 currently living with it; 

9 (4) supports efforts to develop better treat10 ments for glioblastoma that will improve the long11 term prognosis and quality of life of individuals di12 agnosed with the disease; 


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•SRES 210 ATS 

1 (5) expresses its support for the individuals who 

2 are battling brain tumors, as well as the families, 

3 friends, and caregivers of those individuals; 

4 (6) urges a collaborative approach to brain 

5 tumor research, which is a promising means of ad6 vancing the understanding and treatment of glio7 blastoma; and 

8 (7) encourages continued investments in glio9 blastoma research and treatments, including through 

10 the Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network and other 

11 existing brain tumor research resources. 

Æ 


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