Lorenzo is a cancer researcher at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. He works on foundational research to discover new treatment strategies for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a highly aggressive form of adrenal cancer. ACC is an uncommon cancer that does not receive the same level of attention as more common cancers. Because of this, treatment strategies have remained virtually unchanged since the 1970s, which emphasizes a clinical unmet need to modernize therapies and cures. The goal of Lorenzo’s research is to discover new ways to treat ACC patients, who are long overdue for new curative strategies.
A lack of sustained increases in federal funding for cancer research will have severe consequences for cancer patient outcomes.
Lorenzo’s work is only possible due to federal investment in cancer research. Lorenzo said, “Failure to invest in cancer research will not only slow our overall progress on finding cancer cures but will also lead to deprioritizing – and perhaps completely neglecting – of funding rare cancer research. I urge members of Congress to push for increased and sustained federal funding for cancer research. This investment will lead to a future where a rare cancer diagnosis is no longer a death sentence, but a conquerable battle.”