I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1553 

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 15, 2007 

Ms. PRYCE of Ohio (for herself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, 

Mr. SESTAK, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. 

REICHERT, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MICA, Mr. 

RUPPERSBERGER, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 

GRAVES, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

BOUCHER, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. REYES, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 

DREIER, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SHUSTER, 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, and Mr. FORBES) 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. 


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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 ‘‘Conquer Childhood 

5 Cancer Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Cancer kills more children than any other 

9 disease. 

10 (2) Each year cancer kills more children be11 tween 1 and 20 years of age than asthma, diabetes, 

12 cystic fibrosis, and AIDS, combined. 

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

14 diagnosed with cancer. 

15 (4) Each year about 2,300 children and teen16 agers die from cancer. 

17 (5) One in every 330 Americans develops cancer 

18 before age 20. 

19 (6) Some forms of childhood cancer have proven 

20 to be so resistant that even in spite of the great re21 search strides made, most of those children die. Up 

22 to 75 percent of the children with cancer can now 

23 be cured. 

24 (7) Brain tumors are now the most common 

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


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1 most common solid tumor of childhood. Neuro2 blastoma is the second most common pediatric solid 

3 tumor (after brain tumors) and represents a major 

4 therapeutic challenge. More than 50 percent of chil5 dren with metastatic disease still die despite aggres6 sive, toxic chemotherapy regimens. 

7 (8) The causes of most childhood cancers are 

8 not yet known. 

9 (9) Childhood cancers are mostly those of the 

10 white blood cells (leukemias), brain, bone, the lym11 phatic system, and tumors of the muscles, kidneys, 

12 and nervous system. Each of these behaves dif13 ferently, but all are characterized by an uncontrolled 

14 proliferation of abnormal cells. 

15 (10) Eighty percent of the children who are di16 agnosed with cancer have disease which has already 

17 spread to distant sites in the body. 

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

19 pediatric cancer are treated at one of the more than 

20 200 Children’s Oncology Group member institutions 

21 throughout the United States. 

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

23 It is the purpose of this Act to authorize appropria24 tions to— 


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1 (1) encourage and expand the support for bio2 medical research programs of the existing National 

3 Cancer Institute-designated multi-center national in4 frastructure for pediatric cancer research; 

5 (2) establish a population-based national child6 hood cancer database (the Children’s Cancer Re7 search Network) to evaluate incidence trends of 

8 childhood cancers and to enable the investigations of 

9 genetic epidemiology in order to identify causes to 

10 aid in development of prevention strategies; 

11 (3) provide informational services to patients 

12 and families affected by childhood cancer; 

13 (4) support the development, construction and 

14 operation of a comprehensive online public informa15 tion system on childhood cancers and services avail16 able to families; and 

17 (5) establish a fellowship program in pediatric 

18 cancer research to foster clinical and translational 

19 research career development in pediatric oncologists 

20 in the early stages of their career. 

21 SEC. 4. PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH AND AWARENESS. 

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

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

24 at the end thereof the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 417E. PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH AND AWARE2 NESS. 

3 ‘‘(a) PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH.— 

4 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL PROGRAMS OF RESEARCH EXCEL5 LENCE IN PEDIATRIC CANCERS.—The Director of 

6 NIH, acting through the National Cancer Institute, 

7 shall establish special programs of research excel8 lence in the area of pediatric cancers. Such pro9 grams shall demonstrate a balanced approach to re10 search cause, prognosis, prevention, diagnosis, and 

11 treatment of pediatric cancers that foster translation 

12 of basic research findings into innovative interven13 tions applied to patients. 

14 ‘‘(2) FELLOWSHIP OF EXCELLENCE IN PEDI15 ATRIC CANCER RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall de16 velop a grant mechanism for the establishment, in 

17 cooperation with the National Cancer Institute-sup18 ported pediatric cancer clinical trial groups, of Re19 search Fellowships in Pediatric Cancer to support 

20 adequate numbers of pediatric focused clinical and 

21 translational investigators thereby facilitating con22 tinuous momentum of research excellence. 

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

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

25 of a population-based national childhood cancer database, 

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


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1 Children’s Oncology Group, in cooperation with the Na2 tional Cancer Institute. 

3 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC AWARENESS OF PEDIATRIC CANCERS

4 AND AVAILABLE TREATMENTS AND RESEARCH.—The 

5 Secretary shall award grants to recognized childhood can6 cer professional and advocacy organizations for the expan7 sion and widespread implementation of activities to raise 

8 public awareness of currently available information, treat9 ment, and research with the intent to ensure access to best 

10 available therapies for pediatric cancers. 

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

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 

14 Funds appropriated under this section shall remain avail15 able until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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