in effect
Executive Order 14355, signed September 30, 2025, directs several federal agencies and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in pediatric cancer research and treatment. It builds on an existing federal childhood cancer data program and tasks officials with expanding funding, improving data infrastructure, and encouraging private-sector participation.
The MAHA Commission, working with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the White House science and technology advisors, must now identify ways to direct existing federal funds toward AI-focused pediatric cancer projects, particularly within the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI), which already receives $50 million per year. Research priorities at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers must now include AI-assisted clinical trial design, AI analysis of biological and imaging data, and consolidation of data from multiple sources into AI-ready formats. The Secretary of HHS must work to finalize interoperability standards so that electronic health records and insurance claims data can be shared safely with researchers and AI systems, while keeping patients and parents in control of their own health information. The order also directs outreach to the private sector to encourage industry investment in AI-based pediatric cancer solutions.
Researchers and clinicians at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers are the primary targets, as federal funding priorities and data tools will be redirected toward their AI-driven pediatric cancer work. Children and families dealing with pediatric cancer may eventually be affected through improved diagnostics, treatment options, and clinical trial access if the research initiatives produce results. Private-sector technology and healthcare companies are also addressed, as the order explicitly calls on industry to invest in AI tools for pediatric cancer treatment and cure.