Pediatric Cancer Research: The Urgent Need for Greater Support
While there are many charities and nonprofits dedicated to both adult and pediatric cancer, a stark and troubling disparity remains: only 4% of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) cancer research budget is allocated to pediatric cancer.
This limited funding covers only a fraction of what’s truly needed to advance life-saving research, including strategic research grants, pre-clinical studies, clinical trials, and the long-term development of new therapies. As a result, progress toward cures and better treatments for children lags behind.
This gap is especially concerning because childhood cancer is one of the leading causes of death by disease among children and young adults. Many pediatric cancers are considered rare, requiring specialized and targeted research—work that is expensive, time-consuming, and heavily underfunded.
Recent federal budget cuts have further limited the resources available for pediatric cancer research, threatening vital projects already underway.
Despite these challenges, some organizations are making an outsized impact—especially in the fight against specific cancers like Wilms’ Tumor, a rare kidney cancer primarily affecting young children.
Three such organizations are:
- CureSearch for Children’s Cancer – Focused on accelerating the development of new, safe, and effective treatments for children.
- Morgan Adams Foundation – Funding Kids’ Cancer Research.
- Elevate Childhood Cancer – Dedicated to funding promising research and raising awareness of the disparities in pediatric cancer funding.
These organizations are helping bridge the gap where public funding falls short, making real progress possible.
Learn more about their critical work and how you can support them:
Morgan Adams Foundation
