The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has heard great concerns from patients, caregivers, volunteers, healthcare professionals, researchers, community organizations and others who are fearful and confused by NIH spending cuts and other policies being proposed and implemented in Washington.
LLS’s work is nonpartisan, but we do engage with the government. LLS works to advance public policies that improve patients’ health, collaborating with lawmakers who support that goal, regardless of their party affiliation. And we speak out when policymakers take actions that threaten patients’ health, regardless of their party affiliation. As an independent, nonpartisan voice for patients, LLS vigorously opposes any actions that jeopardize their lives and well-being.
Our point of view is not driven by politics; it comes from an understanding of and commitment to the needs of patients. LLS has worked across the aisle for more than 70 years to advance its mission and will continue to do so
Below are answers to some of the most common questions we are hearing.
Updated: February 18, 2025
What blood cancer research funding is being cut?
In February 2025, the current Administration suddenly announced immediate cuts to biomedical research funding administered through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling billions of dollars. This includes across-the-board cuts for all current and future blood cancer research supported by NIH.
These sudden funding cuts have been put on hold by the courts—for now.
NIH grants cover “direct” and “indirect” costs. Direct costs are tied to specific projects such as salaries, travel and supplies. Indirect costs cover a portion of grantees’ facilities and administrative costs.
Though they are described as “indirect,” these funds are essential to lifesaving research. As defined by the NIH, they support critical facilities for scientific research, such as buildings and capital improvements, utilities, lab equipment and its maintenance, and other administration and general expenses such as the director’s office, accounting, personnel and other types of expenditures that support the research.
In addition to covering the infrastructure that helps makes the U.S. scientific engine run, indirect costs also cover NIH requirements for tracking dangerous chemicals, hazardous waste disposal and radiation safety.
What would happen if these cuts were to take effect?
It is reasonable to have a conversation about how biomedical research is funded; but it is dangerous to unilaterally make sudden cuts without consulting with organizations that understand the full effect of sudden cuts. A more measured approach would reduce the disruption to ongoing and future medical research and ensure we continue to see the incredible successes we have come to expect from U.S. medical research.
While there have been some slowdowns in funding over the years, historically there has been broad bipartisan support in Congress for NIH funding. The majority of senators and congresspeople recognize the vital role federal funding plays in the health of our nation.
What is NIH’s role in blood cancer research?
NIH is the premier source of government funding for all biomedical and health services research, including for blood cancer. NIH funding can be tracked back to virtually every new drug and medical advancement in recent history.
NIH grants also provide the infrastructure for all pediatric cancer research. Due to their smaller patient populations, pediatric cancer and other rare diseases will likely not be studied without support from NIH.
What part does LLS play in blood cancer research?
As the largest nonprofit funder of blood cancer research, LLS funding complements funding from NIH and other sources. The pharmaceutical industry also plays a key role in funding new drug studies.
The U.S. model of public-private-foundation partnership for medical research has led to some of the most important advancements in cancer care worldwide.
Does LLS get funding from NIH? What exactly is LLS’s role in research funding?
LLS does not receive any federal funding. Over the last 75 years, LLS has invested $1.8 billion in research resulting in blood cancer patients living longer and better lives. LLS currently has more than $250 million in research funding commitments to propel the next generation of blood cancer care. Like NIH, LLS grants also include funds for direct and indirect research costs.
LLS makes independent decisions about its research investments. Our work is led by a group of dedicated scientists, with input from independent advisors, who seek out and fund innovative science for every type of blood cancer.
LLS will keep doing all it can to advance the best research and accelerate better and safer treatments to improve the lives of blood cancer patients and their families, but we cannot do it alone. Ongoing funding from government and other entities is essential to maintaining a steady pace of finding new cures and improving the lives of blood cancer patients and their families.
How is the NIH research funding pause impacting patients?
The sudden announcement of these cuts is causing disruptions in cancer research as scientists cannot be certain of their current and future funding streams. Even temporary cuts can take their toll on patients, on their families, and on science, too.
A permanent reduction in funding could result in less research and fewer new treatments in the future. Some institutions may be able to fill in any gaps left by NIH funding, while others will likely have to scale back or slow their research efforts.
A longer-term problem is that reduced NIH funding may push researchers out of U.S. academia, where they perform vital foundational scientific work. In times when NIH funding is uncertain, researchers look for other career paths. From 2021-2022, because inflation reduced available funding, there was nearly a 10% drop in the number of young scientists employed in post-doctoral academic research positions.
Will these cuts at NIH really matter in the long term? Can’t universities and others fill the funding gap?
Sustained funding from NIH has been the cornerstone of U.S. excellence in biomedical research. Without it, the pace of quality, impactful advances will slow.
Dramatic advances in research have transformed care for many blood cancer patients, but there is so much more to do. Breakthroughs don’t just happen—they are the result of many years of research.
Before a powerful new therapy reaches patients, it undergoes intensive scientific inquiry, analysis, testing and validation. The only way to rapidly achieve better cancer treatments is through consistent, robust funding for science – through the public sector, academia, industry, and nonprofits.
If funding is frozen, why am I still seeing new drugs being approved by the FDA?
The treatments being approved by the FDA now likely benefited from NIH (and often LLS) research funding years ago. It can take 10 to 15 years or more to bring a new drug to market.
For example, a new type of drug called a menin inhibitor was approved in late 2024 to treat people with acute myeloid leukemia. LLS funded research in the early 2000s that discovered menin’s role in the devastating behavior of AML. Identifying these new connections allows for new kinds of drugs to be developed that may work for patients who have not responded to existing drugs or that work better for all patients.
LLS and NIH committed funding over the next two decades to develop the first compound to inhibit menin, and to do the years of scientific work needed to make the inhibitor potent and safe for use in patients.
Today, thanks to the long-term investments of LLS, NIH and others, one menin inhibitor is available, another is on the way, and work is already underway on next generation menin-based treatments.
What programs does LLS have to fund research that is improving the lives of blood cancer patients?
Our comprehensive research strategy is designed to generate near team impact for blood cancer patients by supporting drugs that are close to FDA approval through the LLS Therapy Acceleration Program. LLS also focuses funding on seeding the research pipeline through our Academic Grants to keep innovative therapies coming in the future.
LLS leads two master clinical trials. The LLS Pediatric Acute Leukemia Master Clinical Trial (PedAL) is helping to speed up the process of finding new treatments for blood cancer in kids. LLS’s Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial is transforming treatment for adults with acute leukemia. Beat AML has already shown improved survival for patients enrolled in Beat AML compared to those receiving standard chemotherapy.
The LLS Equity in Access research program provides funding to health services researchers who are working to uncover and address the social, economic, and environmental disadvantages that keep blood cancer patients and survivors from accessing the high-quality treatment and care they need throughout their lives.
What is LLS doing to address potential cuts to NIH funding?
Through our Office of Public Policy, LLS is encouraging the Administration to partner with patients, clinicians, and researchers to understand and appreciate the full impact that its cuts on funding have on patients and healthcare infrastructure.
To address the threat of funding cuts, LLS partners closely with partner organizations across the cancer community as a part of the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) coalition. Through OVAC, LLS will engage with lawmakers and push back quickly – as we always have – if needed.
LLS is also empowering those who care about this issue by providing opportunities to make their voices heard. Please see below for more information.
How can I help/what can I do?
LLS is vigorously defending against actions that threaten the lives and well-being of cancer patients, like cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and proposals to cut Medicaid, which provides healthcare to more than 70 million Americans, including more than 37 million children.
But we are also focused on ensuring lawmakers drive forward our other priorities, like the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act and bills to support the research and development of pediatric cancer treatments and cures.
As we continue this work, your voices can make an enormous difference.
Right now, please send a message to your members of Congress calling on them to publicly urge the Administration to rescind these devastating cuts. It only takes two clicks (or two taps on your phone).
Send a message to your members of Congress now: We must stop the massive cuts to the NIH medical research program.