Supporting the designation of July 21, 2021, as "Glioblastoma Awareness Day".

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 391 Supporting the designation of July 21, 2021, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness Day’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. MAST (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Mr. GALLA- GHER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of July 21, 2021, as ‘‘Glioblastoma Awareness Day’’. Whereas approximately 13,000 new cases of glioblastoma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2021; Whereas glioblastoma is— (1) the most common malignant, cancerous brain tumor, accounting for approximately half of all primary malignant brain tumors; and (2) the most aggressive, complex, difficult to treat, and deadly type of brain tumor; Whereas it is estimated that more than 10,000 individuals in the United States will succumb to glioblastoma every year; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR391.IH HR391 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 391 IH Whereas the 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is only 7.2 percent and the median length of survival for glioblastoma patients is only 8 months; Whereas glioblastoma is described as a disease that affects the ‘‘essence of self’’, as the treatment and removal of glioblastoma presents significant challenges due to the uniquely complex and fragile nature of the brain, the pri- mary organ in the human body that controls not only cognitive ability but also the actions of every organ and limb; Whereas relative to other types of cancers, brain cancer has— (1) the highest per-patient initial cost of care, with an annualized mean net cost of care approaching $150,000; and (2) the highest annualized mean net costs for last- year-of-life care, with a cost of between $135,000 and $210,000 per patient, depending on the age and gender of a patient; Whereas although research advances may fuel the develop- ment of new treatments for glioblastoma, challenging ob- stacles to accelerating progress toward new treatments for glioblastoma remain and there are no screening or early detection methods; Whereas although glioblastoma was first described in medical and scientific literature in the 1920s, and despite its dev- astating prognosis, only 4 drugs and 1 medical device have been approved by the Food and Drug Administra- tion to treat glioblastoma since the 1920s and the mor- tality rates associated with glioblastoma have changed lit- tle during the past 30 years; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR391.IH HR391 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 391 IH Whereas as a promising first step since the first Glioblastoma Awareness Day, the National Cancer Institute established the Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘GTN’’) in 2020, as part of a national infrastructure to enhance and support the discovery and development of glioblastoma therapies, with an initial $6,000,000 available for multi-institutional GTN teams to drive therapeutic agents through pre-clinical studies and early-phase clinical trials necessary to rapidly evalu- ate potential treatments to advance toward cures and im- proved quality of life; and Whereas there is a need for greater public awareness of glio- blastoma, including awareness of both— (1) the urgent unmet medical needs of glioblastoma patients; and (2) the opportunities for research and treatment ad- vances for glioblastoma: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the designation of ‘‘Glioblastoma 2 Awareness Day’’; 3 (2) encourages increased public awareness of 4 glioblastoma; 5 (3) honors the individuals who have lost their 6 lives to glioblastoma, a devastating disease, or are 7 currently living with it; 8 (4) supports efforts to develop better treat- 9 ments for glioblastoma that will improve the long- 10 term prognosis and quality of life of individuals di- 11 agnosed with the disease; 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR391.IH HR391 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 391 IH (5) expresses its support for the individuals who 1 are battling brain tumors, as well as the families, 2 friends, and caregivers of those individuals; 3 (6) urges a collaborative approach to brain 4 tumor research, which is a promising means of ad- 5 vancing the understanding and treatment of glio- 6 blastoma; and 7 (7) encourages continued Federal investments 8 in glioblastoma research and treatments, including 9 through the Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network and 10 other existing brain tumor research resources. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR391.IH HR391 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS