Boozman Presses VA on Failure to Establish Oncology Program Partnership with UAMS

WASHINGTON--U.S. Senator John Boozman, a senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, pushed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Oncology Program Executive Director Dr. Michael Kelley to explain its failure to expand the Precision Oncology Program for Cancer of the Prostate (POPCaP) in contrast to congressional intent. The department was required to extend the prostate cancer initiative, including fostering a new partnership with the Little Rock VA and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), which has not occurred.

At a VA Committee hearing, Boozman highlighted Chairman Jerry Moran's (R-KS) introduction of the Precision Oncology Program for Cancer of the Prostate Authorization Act that would designate the Little Rock VA Medical Center, among others, as a Center of Excellence for the POPCaP program.

"Arkansas has built a strong partnership between the Little Rock VA and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and I believe it is well positioned to become a national leader in precision oncology research and care for veterans," Boozman said. "Congress provided $5 million to expand the Precision Oncology Program for Cancer of the Prostate to additional VA medical centers and increased academic cancer center partnerships. It is my understanding that VA instead used those funds to establish a broader precision oncology research program covering multiple cancers."

Expanding access to clinical oncology trials, particularly to areas that currently lack those opportunities, is critical. Boozman worked to secure funding to facilitate a new partnership between UAMS and the VA in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package.

To date, that partnership has not been realized. Instead, the VA utilized the allocated funding to create a broad precision oncology cancer research program without expanding POPCaP sites. The senator has since included language in subsequent appropriations legislation directing the department to submit a report within 30 days after enactment on its plan to maintain the 21 current POPCaP sites and expand to additional locations.

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