Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1800 To require a review of women and lung cancer, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. BONAMICI, and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require a review of women and lung cancer, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women and Lung Can- 4 cer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) According to the American Cancer Society, 8 in the United States, approximately 171 women die 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1800 IH each day of lung cancer, or about one woman every 1 8.4 minutes. 2 (2) Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer 3 death among women. 4 (3) The American Cancer Society estimates 5 that 62,470 women will die of lung cancer in 2021. 6 (4) Studies have shown a higher incidence rate 7 of lung cancer for women who were never smokers 8 compared to men who were never smokers. 9 (5) According to the American Cancer Society, 10 new cases of lung cancer dropped by 3 percent per 11 year in men from 2011 to 2015, while new cases in 12 women only dropped 1.5 percent per year in the 13 same time period. 14 (6) According to the 2014 report, ‘‘The Health 15 Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A 16 Report of the Surgeon General, 2014’’, the relative 17 risk of developing lung cancer increased tenfold 18 among female smokers between 1959 and 2010. 19 (7) According to the American Cancer Society, 20 approximately 40 percent of lung cancers are adeno- 21 carcinoma, a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, 22 which is the most common type of cancer seen in 23 non-smokers and is more common in women than in 24 men. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1800 IH (8) According to the Environmental Protection 1 Agency, exposure to radon accounts for approxi- 2 mately 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year 3 and is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smok- 4 ers. 5 (9) A Government Accountability Office report 6 published on October 22, 2015, called for the Na- 7 tional Institutes of Health to do more in evaluating 8 gender differences in research. 9 (10) Additional research strategies, including 10 clinical trials, are necessary to explore the dif- 11 ferences in lung cancer risk factors, incidence, and 12 treatment response in women, and to address the 13 disparate impact of lung cancer on women who have 14 never smoked. 15 (11) Lung cancer screening, which can detect 16 lung cancer at its earliest, most curable stage, is a 17 covered service available without cost-sharing for 18 those at high risk. 19 (12) Published peer-reviewed actuarial studies 20 indicate that lung cancer screening individuals at 21 high risk may be cost-effective. 22 (13) The National Framework of Excellence in 23 Lung Cancer Screening and Continuum of Care, 24 launched in 2012, demonstrated that lung cancer 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1800 IH screening can be safely and effectively carried out in 1 community hospital settings around the Nation. 2 (14) Information on the impact of lung cancer 3 on women and the importance of early detection 4 should be incorporated into all relevant public health 5 awareness campaigns. 6 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING WOMEN AND 7 LUNG CANCER. 8 It is the sense of Congress that— 9 (1) there is a disparate impact of lung cancer 10 on women and, in particular, on women who have 11 never smoked; 12 (2) additional research strategies to explore the 13 differences in women with respect to lung cancer 14 risk factors, incidence, histology, and response to 15 treatment are justified and necessary; 16 (3) the implementation of lung cancer preven- 17 tive services for women should be accelerated; and 18 (4) the public health agencies of the Federal 19 Government should coordinate public education and 20 awareness programs on the impact of lung cancer on 21 women and the importance of early detection. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1800 IH SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY REVIEW TO EVALUATE AND IDEN- 1 TIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ACCELERA- 2 TION OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN AND LUNG 3 CANCER, GREATER ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE 4 SERVICES, AND STRATEGIC PUBLIC AWARE- 5 NESS AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 8 fense and Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct an 9 interagency review to evaluate the status of, and identify 10 opportunities related to— 11 (1) research on women and lung cancer; 12 (2) access to lung cancer preventive services; 13 and 14 (3) strategic public awareness and education 15 campaigns on lung cancer. 16 (b) CONTENT.—The review and recommendations 17 under subsection (a) shall include— 18 (1) a review and comprehensive report on the 19 outcomes of previous research, the status of existing 20 research activities, and knowledge gaps related to 21 women and lung cancer in all agencies of the Fed- 22 eral Government; 23 (2) specific opportunities for collaborative, 24 interagency, multidisciplinary, and innovative re- 25 search, that would— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1800 IH (A) encourage innovative approaches to 1 eliminate knowledge gaps in research; 2 (B) evaluate environmental and genomic 3 factors that may be related to the etiology of 4 lung cancer in women; and 5 (C) foster advances in imaging technology 6 to improve risk assessment, diagnosis, treat- 7 ment, and the simultaneous application of other 8 preventive services; 9 (3) opportunities regarding the development of 10 a national lung cancer screening strategy with suffi- 11 cient infrastructure and personnel resources to ex- 12 pand access to such screening, particularly among 13 underserved populations; and 14 (4) opportunities regarding the development of 15 a national public education and awareness campaign 16 on women and lung cancer and the importance of 17 early detection of lung cancer. 18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 20 Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the 21 review conducted under subsection (a). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1800.IH H1800 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS