SNMMI Applauds the Senate for Including Nuclear Medicine Research Language
in Appropriations Reports for L-HHS and DoD
On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee
released FY 2026 reports for Labor, Health and Human Services (L-HHS) and the Department
of Defense (DoD).
The L-HHS report
includes language from SNMMI encouraging the
National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute (NCI) to
support research that utilizes and promotes theranostics, where appropriate, to
provide early, accurate, and effective cancer diagnosis and treatment.
As a result of SNMMI's advocacy, the Department of Defense report
includes neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) as
an allowable research area in the Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Program's (CDMRP) Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program.
The CDMRP was created in 1992 by Congress to foster
novel approaches to biomedical research that benefit active duty servicemembers, their families, and the general population. These programs fund
innovative research related to several cancers and diseases.
Nuclear medicine plays a pivotal role in diagnosing and
treating NETs, the second most common type of gastrointestinal cancer. Compared with conventional imaging, nuclear
medicine imaging offers greater sensitivity and allows for more accurate localization and
precise detection, making it an excellent option for both diagnosis and treatment.
The House has not yet voted on the FY 2026 L-HHS and Defense bills, and reports are not expected to be released until early September. We will keep
members informed about any updates during this process.
These major wins for the nuclear medicine field would not
have been possible without the letter-writing, advocacy, and persistence of
SNMMI's membership.
The full language for both reports is shown below.
Labor, Health and Human Services (L-HHS) Theranostics Language
Theranostics is a nuclear medicine technique that combines
diagnostic imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies to precisely
identify and treat diseases like cancer. This cutting-edge technology uses
diagnostic imaging to identify and target cancer cells; if such cells are
present, radiopharmaceutical therapies are injected intravenously and bind to
the targeted cancer cells to deliver localized doses of radiation to the tumor.
Theranostics are an innovative, precision medicine technique that allows for
personalized treatment of cancers such as thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and
neuroendocrine tumors while sparing healthy tissue around the tumor.
Theranostics show huge potential to advance the battle against cancer; a
disease that remains a formidable challenge in medicine and has claimed a significant
number of lives nationwide. The Committee encourages NCI to support research
that utilizes and promotes theranostics, where appropriate, to provide early,
accurate, and effective cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Defense - Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program s (CDMRP) Peer
Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Neuroendocrine Tumors (NETs)
The Committee recommends
$130,000,000 for the peer-reviewed cancer research program. The funds provided
in the peer-reviewed cancer research program are directed to be used to conduct
research in the following areas: bladder cancer; blood cancers; brain cancer;
colorectal cancer; endometrial cancer; esophageal cancer; germ cell cancers;
glioblastoma; kidney cancer; liver cancer; lung cancer; lymphoma; mesothelioma;
metastatic cancer; myeloma; neuroblastoma; neuroendocrine tumors; pediatric
brain tumors; pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers; sarcoma; stomach
cancer; and thyroid cancer.