Biden relaunches Moonshot with aim to cut cancer deaths

On Wednesday, he relaunched the Cancer Moonshot program, an initiative he spearheaded in 2016 as vice president and one he is reigniting with a goal to “end cancer as we know it.”

“In the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken more than 800,000 American lives. In that same period of time, cancer has claimed 1.2 million American lives,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House.

“For all of those we lost, for all those we miss, we can end cancer as we know it,” he continued. “I committed to this when I was vice president and it’s one of the reasons, quite frankly, that I ran for president. Let there be no doubt, now that I am president, that this is a presidential White House priority, period.”

Among the chief objectives of what Biden called “the [administration’s] plan to supercharge” the Moonshot initiative is to reduce the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden, PhD, also promised to work toward improving the experience of people and families living with cancer. They issued a call to action on cancer screening and early detection in an effort to make up for millions of missed screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bidens’ history with cancer has been well documented.

Beau Biden, the president’s oldest child, lost a 5-year battle with cancer in May of 2015, when he died at age 46 years due to glioblastoma multiforme. Thursday would have been the younger Biden’s 53rd birthday.

“Certain words have the power to make time stop. Malignant. Aggressive. Terminal. Cancer. Like a spell, they still the air around us. Frozen in place, we feel the world around us slipping away,” Jill Biden said. “Together, we will give Americans a reason to hope. We will use the power of this White House to make your life better. And we will build a future where the word ‘cancer’ forever loses its power.”

Among the new goals for Cancer Moonshot are:

• to diagnose cancer sooner, including recommitting to regular screening and expanding traditional screening;
• to take lessons learned in modern science, including in mRNA technology and through learning about environmental exposures, to work toward preventing cancer;
• to reduce inequities that exist, ensuring all Americans (rural, urban, tribal, etc.) have access to cutting-edge cancer diagnostics, therapeutics and clinical trials;
• to target the right treatments for the right patients, using information about genetics and immune responses to customize care;
• to invest in a new, robust pipeline of new treatments and accelerate trials, without compromising safety and effectiveness, to speed research toward treating the most deadly and rare cancers; and
• to learn from patients (using data while respecting privacy) and support them, their caregivers and survivors through the medical, financial and emotional burdens.

“The goal is to cut the cancer death rate in half in the next 25 years at least by 50% and to turn death sentences to chronic diseases that people can live with, to create a more supportive experience for patients and their families,” Biden said. “It’s bold, it’s ambitious, but it’s completely doable. Just as we harnessed the science to develop the cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, we’ll bring a fierce sense of urgency to the fight against cancer.”

The cancer care community expressed eagerness to continue working with government officials to fuel Moonshot’s progress.

“ACS and ACS CAN commit to continue this fight alongside the president, his administration and Congress by accelerating discovery, improving access to services patients and their families need, and advancing public policy that will change the trajectory of this disease,” Karen E. Knudsen, PhD, MBA, CEO of American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Action Network, said in a statement. “Marshalling the resources of the federal government will be critical in our ability to reduce death and suffering from this disease.” Healio