Senator Boxer: Senators Boxer, Lautenberg and Kerry Introduce Legislation to Help Better Diagnose Prostate Cancer

June 29, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John Kerry (D-MA) yesterday introduced legislation to develop new technologies in the fight against prostate cancer.

“This much needed legislation mirrors the investment the Federal government made years back in advanced imaging technologies for detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. We all know that investment in technology has saved many lives,” Senator Boxer said.

"New technologies are our best weapon in the fight to find a cure for cancer," Senator Kerry said. "This legislation will put the resources behind the medicine and the science, and ensure we do everything possible to find a cure. As a prostate cancer survivor I know in a personal way how the early detection and innovative treatment can save lives, and I thank Senators Boxer and Lautenberg for their leadership on this issue."

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men. Prostate cancer afflicts one out of every six men.

The Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men’s Education, or PRIME, Act calls for expanding prostate cancer research and provides resources to develop advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer. The bill authorizes $130 million each year for five years to expand research to develop innovative technologies for prostate cancer, create a national campaign to increase awareness, and research improvements to prostate cancer screening blood tests.

This bill would also direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a national campaign to increase awareness about the need for prostate cancer screening.

Senator Boxer added, “The PRIME Act will help educate families about the benefits of screening and protect our fathers, our brothers and our sons from this disease.”

The current technology and screening techniques result in a number of false-negative reassurances and false-positive alarms. According to a recent National Cancer Institute study, almost 15 percent of men with normal test results actually have prostate cancer.

Source: Senator Barbara Boxer