Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 101 Part 1.djvu/299

 PUBLIC LAW 100-24—APR. 10, 1987

101 STAT. 269

Public Law 100-24 100th Congress Joint Resolution To designate the month of May, 1987 as "National Cancer Institute Month".

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Whereas in 1937 the "National Cancer Institute" was created by law, Whereas the intent of Congress in enacting legislation in 1937 was to initiate a new, high priority, highly visible, national program for the conquest of cancer. Whereas Congress continues to stress the importance of the National Cancer Institute through the creation of the 1971 National Cancer Act and its 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1986 reauthorizations, 42 USC 201 note. Whereas the National Cancer Institute represents a unique structure for a coherent and systematic attack on the vastly complex problems of cancer through the National Cancer Institute, Whereas the National Cancer Institute created a network of cancer centers that has increased from three before 1971 to fifty-nine in 1986, thus providing the Nation with an invaluable national resource for cancer research, treatment, control, prevention, and training, Whereas recombinant DNA techniques and monoclonal antibody technologies have contributed so much to discovering the blueprint of cancer and now hold enormous promise for rapidly diagnosing and characterizing tumors and for treating patients, Whereas cancer research scientists supported by the National Cancer Program funded by the National Cancer Institute determined the function of a normal human oncogene, and are elucidating the role of oncogene products in cancer, discovered the structure of the T-cell receptor, demonstrated the role of viruses in the causation of cancer, discovered that the virus HTLV-III is the cause of AIDS, showing that fundamental research in cancer biology forms the underpinnings for all other cancer research programs, Whereas it has been shown that systemic therapies, largely developed through clinical trials, can cure cancer with more than 50 per centum of patients potentially curable and numerous cancers now have five-year survival rates over 75 per centum such as thyroid, endometrium, melanoma, breast, bladder, Hodgkin's disease, and prostate and with children's five-year cancer survival rates reaching an all-time high of 60 per centum. Whereas progress continues in understanding and planning strategies to interfere with cancer metastasis and overcome drug resistance, Whereas collaboration between surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and therapy with biological response modifiers has greatly improved the outcome for cancer patients, allowing for less radical surgery by utilizing adjuvant radiation and new success in hard-to-treat tumors through improved chemotherapy, Whereas the National Cancer Institute has mounted a major program of research on cancer prevention which serves as the basis

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