University of Hawaii asks state to fill possible federal shortfall for tumor registry

The University of Hawaii Cancer Center told the Senate Education Committee on March 23 that the Hawaii Tumor Registry — an NCI surveillance registry in operation since 1973 — faces potential federal funding cuts that could remove up to one‑third of current support. The registry’s principal investigator said the center seeks state funding to preserve personnel and replace discontinued pathology‑reporting software.

Brenda Hernandez described the registry’s work identifying cancer trends in Hawaii’s diverse populations and its role in cluster investigations and public health planning. ‘‘We are the only registry nationally to report cancer incidence, mortality and survival specifically among Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese and Filipinos individually,’’ she said, urging state support to avoid a data gap that would hinder prevention and research.

Committee members pressed for fiscal detail and questioned how the cancer center prioritized projects after receiving state and institutional funds. Senators asked why the center could not reallocate internal resources and sought clarity on how cigarette‑tax and tuition special‑fund rules apply to registry support. Witnesses said their $1.5 million request would cover personnel, software replacement for electronic pathology reporting (a vendor relationship with Inspirata was discontinued), and related infrastructure.

The committee voted to pass HB 1970 with amendments that clarify the purpose of the requested funds, change the proposed means of financing to the tuition and special fees account, and send the bill to Ways and Means for further deliberation. Members signaled concern about competing priorities and the need to ensure sustained surveillance capacity if federal support declines.