Biden Administration Announces Plans to Relaunch the Cancer Moonshot

Earlier in February, the Biden Administration relaunched the Cancer Moonshot initiative with the aim of “ending cancer as we know it today.” At the outset of the press event, the President clearly stated, “the Cancer Moonshot is a Presidential White House Priority, period.” 

The relaunched Cancer Moonshot will build on more than two decades of progress in cancer research and cancer care to achieve the specific goals of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years and improving the experience of those living with cancer and surviving cancer.

The initial Cancer Moonshot launched during the last year of the Obama Administration in 2016 and was spearheaded by then Vice President Biden. Congress provided $1.8 billion over seven-years for the Cancer Moonshot under the 21st Century Cures Act, with funding ending in September 2023.

The relaunched Cancer Moonshot seeks to develop methods for earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer, improve cancer prevention, address inequities in access to cancer screening, diagnostics and treatment across race and region, target the right treatments to the right patients, continue to make progress against the most deadly and rare cancers, support patients, caregivers and survivors, and learn from the experiences of patients.

Specific activities that will be pursued under the Cancer Moonshot include the following:

• Formation of a new “Cancer Cabinet” composed of 18 federal agencies including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy and Agriculture, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, among others.
• Hosting a White House “Cancer Moonshot Summit” that will bring together leadership, patient advocacy organizations, biopharmaceutical companies, research, public health, and health care communities to highlight innovation, progress, and new commitments to ending cancer as we know it.
• Issuing a Call to Action on Cancer Screening and Early Detection to increase access to screening and get back on track after more than 9.5 million cancer screenings were missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The call to action contains specific initiatives targeting cervical cancer screening and prevention. These include ensuring equitable access to screening and prevention through at-home screening (especially for colon cancer and HPV), mobile screening in communities without easy access to a clinic, through the community health networks built and strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other ways to reduce barriers to cancer screening. It also commits to accelerating efforts to nearly eliminate cervical cancer through screening and HPV vaccination, with a particular focus on reaching people who are most at risk.

The President’s Cancer Panel this week released a report “Closing Gaps in Cancer Screening” laying out recommendations focused on connecting people, communities, and systems to increase equity and access.

Danielle Carnival, PhD, currently with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has been tapped by President Biden to serve as the White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator. A new “Cancer Moonshot Website” has been created to track progress on the initiative.

The Administration invites all Americans to share perspectives and ideas, and organizations, companies, and institutions to share actions they plan to take as part of this mission.

For more information on the Cancer Moonshot relaunch, please see this White House Fact Sheet.