COG Creates Foundation to Receive Private Support for Childhood Cancer Research

The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) announced yesterday the formation of The Children’s Oncology Group Foundation to enable COG’s physicians, researchers and other professionals to directly channel philanthropic funds to scientific priorities in childhood cancer research. Core grant support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for COG will be administered by academic institutional members of COG, an arrangement that is similar to other NCI-supported cancer cooperative groups. The COG scientific leadership, through its Foundation, will now be responsible for receiving and distributing charitable funds for its childhood cancer research.

Grant funds from NCI have for many years been inadequate to fund the research endeavors of COG, necessitating that private dollars be raised to cover the deficit between actual costs of doing research and the federal funds received. The current fiscal climate in Washington threatens further reductions in the total funding to the National Institutes of Health, reductions that will adversely affect overall NCI research funding and the level of support for vital translational, clinical and epidemiological childhood cancer research. As a result, it is even more important at this time that philanthropic dollars for COG research, and indeed for all childhood cancer research, be allocated to the most important scientific priorities.

The Children’s Oncology Group is the largest cooperative group treating children with cancer and includes over 200 treatment centers in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. COG hospitals treat more than 90% of the children diagnosed with cancer in the United States. The dramatic increase in survival rates for children with cancer is largely due to this cooperative network of 7500 physicians, scientists and other professionals.

The Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy, since its founding, has been a strong advocate for substantial annual increases in federal funding for childhood cancer research. We have been an independent voice for children and families in numerous national discussions related to drug development, clinical research, health care reform and care for survivors.  Children with cancer will be cured only through sharply focused research that can lead to more effective therapies and strategies for prevention and amelioration of late effects of treatment. CCCA supports actions in the conduct of childhood cancer research that advance this goal.

For more information ,see the Letter from the COG Chair and COG Press Release.