Trending News Today: Nearly a Billion Dollars Spent on Lobbying for Opioid Legislation

Pediatric brain cancer has surpassed leukemia as the leading cause of cancer mortality among children and adolescents. A new report reveals that nearly one-third of cancer deaths among this population was attributed to brain cancer, while one-quarter was attributed to leukemia, according to The Washington Post. The decrease in leukemia deaths is likely due to a focus on creating new and effective treatment regimens.

The Department of Health and Human Services created a set of new rules that allows data from clinical trials to be widely available to both study participants and other scientists. Recent findings show that many clinical trials fail to meet current standards likely due to their confusing nature. The new rules make it easier to comprehend which clinical trials are to be included in the federal database, and expand the list of studies that must be registered, according to NPR.

Investigators found that pharmaceutical companies and advocates have spent more than $880 million on lobbying and contributions over the past 10 years, according to The Washington Post. Some of the money was spent on legislation related to opioids. In comparison, groups that advocated for limiting opioid prescriptions only spent $4 million during this time.