By Bill Thomas | December 10
It’s a situation every oncologist is all too familiar with: a localized cancer, dangerous but potentially curable, metastasizes, spreading to other parts of the body. As a result, the risk to the patient increases dramatically while the likelihood that they can be cured plummets.
Just as pediatric cancers threaten the lives of countless patients, in the United States there is a sickness threatening the stability and viability of life-saving pediatric cancer research. That sickness comes in the form of federal funding cuts that inhibit progress by depriving researchers and research institutions of critical resources they need to continue their work.
At first, the sickness was localized, with pediatric cancer research provisions being eliminated from the federal government’s 2025 budget. Then the sickness metastasized with the announcement that the National Institute of Health (NIH) would impose a 15% indirect costs reimbursement cap on all medical research grants.
Now, the sickness has spread once again. This year, the U.S. federal government announced plans to terminate funding for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), a longtime driver of discovery and innovation in the pediatric cancer research ecosystem.
What is the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium?
Established in 1999, PBTC is a collaborative network of 16 academic centers and children’s hospitals across North America dedicated to conducting phase I and phase II clinical trials of novel treatments for primary brain tumors in children.
Brain tumors are the most common solid cancers diagnosed in children ages 14 and under, as well as the leading cause of pediatric cancer-related death. Prior to PBTC’s formation, the pediatric cancer research community lacked a coordinated, systematic means of evaluating and prioritizing the most promising novel treatments for childhood brain cancers. Using a rigorous selection process, PBTC has, in its 26 years of operation, helped connect the leading minds in pediatric neuro-oncology, launching numerous early-phase clinical trials, shepherding promising novel treatments to larger studies, and developing innovative neuroimaging techniques.
Since its formation, PBTC has received the majority of its funding through NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). As of May 2026, however, that funding will cease. Even before this, only 4% of federal cancer research funds were allocated for pediatric cancer research. The decision to defund PBTC will only further stifle the struggling pediatric cancer research community.
“Although we receive additional funding from grants and foundations and philanthropy beyond the NCI funding, the consortium infrastructure really exists based upon the NCI funding, and we use NCI resources as part of our fundamental activities,” PBTC chair Dr. Ira Dunkel told Colorado Newsline. “The PBTC without NCI funding will cease to exist.”
How Will This Impact the Future of Pediatric Cancer Research?
According to NCI, early phase pediatric cancer trials previously conducted through PBTC will be transferred to the Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trials Network (PEP-CTN), a group of 42 children’s hospitals whose goal is to test novel pediatric cancer treatments for safety and effectiveness and to help transition the most promising treatments into larger studies.
That said, while PBTC trials that are active and already accruing patients are being transferred to PEP-CTN, many other trials will likely close prematurely in the process. Not all existing studies will be able to continue, in the process abruptly stripping children of potentially life-saving therapies.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that PEP-CTN is broadly concerned with pediatric cancers in general where PBTC is focused specifically on researching treatments for pediatric brain cancers. In a public statement on its website, the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) argued against NIH’s decision to terminate funding for PBTC, noting that both PBTC and PEP-CTN play crucial roles in advancing outcomes and addressing the unmet needs of pediatric cancer patients.
“PBTC provides deep specialization, a track record of convening the field’s top experts across all relevant disciplines, and a dedicated infrastructure to prioritize and evaluate new treatments for pediatric CNS tumors—a particularly complex and rapidly evolving field,” NBTS said.
“Pediatric brain tumors receive less private investment than other childhood cancers and remain one of the most scientifically and clinically challenging diseases to treat. This field cannot afford to lose vital capacity, expertise, or momentum just as the field of neuro-oncology is starting to realize the potential to develop highly-targeted treatments, advance cellular and other immunotherapies, and evaluate medical devices for children with aggressive brain tumors.”
What Can You Do to Help Protect Pediatric Cancer Research?
Following the announcement of NIH’s plan to defund PBTC, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have, with NBTS endorsement, urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reverse this decision. NBTS has also created a petition with the same goal, and we here at Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation strongly encourage everyone reading this to take action and sign the petition!
Additionally, please consider contacting your representatives in Congress to let them know how important continuing federal funding for PBTC is to ensuring that all children affected by childhood cancers can overcome their disease and achieve their full potential so they can enjoy happy, healthy, productive futures.
Finally, if you’re able, consider becoming a Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation donor. In light of the PBTC situation and other funding recent cuts, the burden of responsibility for financially supporting innovative and potentially life-saving childhood cancer research falls on private donors and organizations like Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Donate today to help us continue powering research that advances outcomes and improves quality of life for children affected by pediatric cancer!