NEW YORK TIMES FEATURES THE END OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PBTC
A Major Setback for Pediatric Brain Cancer Research
This week, The New York Times reported that the National Cancer Institute will end funding for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) — a network that has led groundbreaking early-phase clinical trials for children with brain tumors since 1999.
Dr. Mark Souweidane, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering, has been a long-standing participant in the consortium with deep and sustained involvement as a member of its multi-institutional studies. In the article, Dr. Souweidane captures the extent of this loss beyond current patient care, when he states:
“The thing that’s intangible, that will never be able to be monitored, is the cross-fertilization, the collaboration, the idea making that happens in these groups.”
The PBTC has been the engine behind studies of novel therapies for the deadliest pediatric brain cancers — including diffuse midline glioma (DIPG), ependymoma, and other high-risk tumors with almost no effective treatments. With funding cuts, enrollment in several critical trials has already been halted, including CAR T-cell therapy for ependymoma and a new minimally invasive laser ablation trial, both of which give great hope to families who may otherwise have no treatment options.
“The Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, an association of 16 academic centers and children’s hospitals dedicated to trials of novel treatments for pediatric brain cancer, directed its members last week to stop enrolling new patients because it had been informed that the consortium would not be eligible to apply for funding beyond March 2026, said Dr. Ira Dunkel, a pediatric oncologist who is the chair of the group.”
The tragedy here is not only the immediate disruption to clinical trials, but also the loss of the collaborative ecosystem that drives discovery. Pediatric brain tumor research is already underfunded and faces enormous barriers; dismantling a proven infrastructure like the PBTC will slow progress, fragment efforts, and ultimately cost lives.
This is a tremendous step backward. Children with brain tumors deserve more trials, more collaboration, and more innovation — not less.
We urge our community of families, advocates, policymakers, and donors to raise their voices, demand solutions, and support efforts that keep this momentum alive.