HHS announced a “doubling of funding for its Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) at the NIH.”
CCDI was established by President Trump in 2019 to “collect, generate, and analyze childhood cancer data. Its budget will rise from $50 million to $100 million, giving the federal government stronger data for this effort. The initiative will also bring in private-sector partners to apply advanced artificial intelligence to speed up cures for pediatric cancer.”
HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said that the project aims to “harness American innovation in artificial intelligence to find cures for pediatric cancer.”
HHS will “use artificial intelligence to maximize the potential for electronic health record and claims data to inform research and clinical trial design. Parents will remain in control of their child’s health information as the data is used to benefit patients and researchers.” The agency will also “’focus on research that harnesses AI to uncover causes, identify risks early, and take action in childhood and young adulthood to prevent cancer.’ Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death for children in the United States, and its incidence has increased by more than 40% since 1975.”
