The issue made it into the FY21 NDAA:
Rare cancer research and treatment
The Department of Defense has begun to address environmental exposure risks which may correlate with certain cancers. The committee remains concerned, however, with
servicemembers' receipt of medical care following a rare cancer diagnosis. Over 60 cancers may disproportionately impact
servicemembers, and many are rare cancers affecting fewer than 6 per 100,000 Americans annually. Some targeted therapies for such cancers have been developed, but more work must be done.
Understanding specific molecular drivers for each patient's cancer and then sharing those data are key to providing the most effective therapies and to advancing research that will
lead to new treatments. Therefore, the committee directs the Department to provide a briefing to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, not later than March 1, 2021, that: (1) Describes the specific types of molecular diagnostic tests that are available to
cancer patients within the military health system; (2) Provides recommendations on expansion of molecular diagnostic testing
for servicemembers with cancer; and (3) Outlines data-sharing practices with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National
Institutes of Health, and the external research community.