Harvard Scientist's Breast Cancer Breakthrough Halted by Trump Funding Cut

In the United States, breast cancer remains the most common cancer diagnosed among women, making up roughly 32% of all new cancer cases each year.

Today, more than four million women across the country are living with a history of breast cancer—including those who have completed treatment.

Despite the grim numbers, there had been growing hope in the scientific community as Harvard scientists had been on a quest for a breakthrough—one that could have changed the course of treatment or even ended the disease completely.

But that hope has dimmed after President Donald Trump's administration cut funding for the research, effectively halting the potential breakthrough and progress in the fight against breast cancer.

Breast Cancer in the United States

In 2025, experts estimate around 316,950 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, along with 59,080 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive form of the disease.

The toll remains heavy as about 42,170 women are expected to die from breast cancer this year. On average, that's 133.1 new cases and 18.6 deaths per 100,000 women annually.

Although rare, men aren't exempt. Fewer than 1% of all breast cancer cases occur in men.

This year alone, about 2,800 new cases and 510 deaths are projected, translating to roughly 1.3 new cases and 0.3 deaths per 100,000 men.

Joan Brugge's Research

Joan Brugge, Director of the Ludwig Cancer Centre at Harvard Medical School, is leading a project aimed at identifying the earliest precursors of breast cancer.

Her team has been analysing breast tissue samples in the hope of helping the roughly one in eight women – and some men – who will face breast cancer, potentially sparing them the pain, suffering, and risk of death that comes with the disease.

Last year, their work sparked hope — a major breakthrough: they identified the specific cells that carry the seeds of breast tumours. Remarkably, these 'seed cells' were present in what appeared to be normal, healthy tissue in every breast sample examined.

Brugge and her team knew exactly what to do next: find ways to detect, isolate, and eliminate these mutant cells before they have a chance to spread and form tumours.

'I'm excited about what we're doing right now,' Brugge said. 'I think we could make a difference, so I don't want to stop.'

However, this light of hope had dimmed—the adrenaline to discover more has been slowed down, as Brugge's project is one of Harvard's hundreds of projects caught up in the ongoing dispute with Trump's administration.

The administration halted approximately £2.28 billion ($3 billion) in research grants and contracts to punish Harvard last spring. Including funding from the National Institutes of Health for Brugge's breast cancer research — a seven‑year grant worth approximately £5.33 million ($7 million).

She got an email saying that the grants are 'terminated'.

In her interview on 60 Minutes, Brugge said, 'It was just like a gut punch. My knees buckled, and I had to sit down because I had never imagined that research focused on diseases like cancer would be canceled for a reason that is unrelated to the quality of the research or the progress.'

She continued, 'My research has the potential to prevent their daughters, wives, and their cousins from developing breast cancer. And I don't think any taxpayer would want to interfere with progress on a project like that.'

Trump Funding Cut Impact

With the cut, the immediate and obvious result was that Brugge's research suffered.

Instead of exerting her full effort on finding answers that could save lives, she now spends half of her time searching for alternative funding, managing her team's anxieties, and trying to make sense of updates from the media, the university, and the Trump administration.

Six of her 18 lab members have left after being told that she cannot guarantee their positions.

Y, who is another key person in the research, will also leave in a few weeks. Y designed and ran the tool in the lab that analyses millions of breast cancer tissue cells, but she's not preparing to leave–writing a summary of her work in the hopes that someone will continue her work.

Y will be leaving the country and taking another opportunity in Switzerland, and Bugge doesn't have enough money to find a replacement. She also said talented researchers are wary of working at Harvard.

The Long-Term Effect

The scientist also shared that even if the funding is restored, staff will be impossible to rebuild and it would take her more than a year to hire and train new employees.

Brugge admitted being unsure if her lab will return to its prime just like before, and she's also concerned about what the future holds.

'There'll always be now this existential threat to the research,' she said.

'I will definitely be concerned because we don't know what's going to happen in the future that might trigger a similar kind of action.'

Furthermore, Mark Fleury, a policy specialist at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, warned that a 10% cut in funding could mean two fewer new drugs or treatments per year, slowing progress for patients nationwide.

With what had happened, Brugge admitted that she thought of shutting down her lab, but knew she had to continue, 'I can't stop just because of these hardships that we're facing now.'

'We all need to work hard to make a difference for cancer patients and their families. It affects everyone,' Brugge said.