The 50 years' war: The history and outcomes of the National Cancer Act of 1971.

The National Cancer Act of 1971 instigated 50 years of momentum that raised the federal investment in cancer research from $500 million in 1972 to $6.5 billion in 2021. This investment has fueled basic, translational, and clinical research that has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of cancer and our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. It has also affected many other diseases.