Investments to Launch the Next Phase of Cancer Research
The following information has been adapted from a White House Fact Sheet. Please check back in the coming days and weeks for more updates on the Cancer Moonshot and what it means for cancer research.
In late January 2016, President Barack Obama announced the establishment of a new Cancer Moonshot Task Force – to be led by Vice President Joe Biden – to focus on making the most of Federal investments, targeted incentives, private sector efforts from industry and philanthropy, patient engagement initiatives, and other mechanisms to support cancer research and enable progress in treatment and care.
The Administration is launching the National Cancer Moonshot with a $1 billion initiative to provide the funding necessary for researchers to accelerate the development of new ways to detect and treat cancer, including:
- The Moonshot initiative will begin immediately with $195 million in new cancer activities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year 2016.
- The Fiscal Year 2017 Budget will propose to continue this initiative with $755 million in mandatory funds for new cancer-related research activities at both NIH and the Food and Drug Administration.
- The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are increasing their investments in cancer research, including through funding Centers of Excellence focused on specific cancers, and conducting large longitudinal studies to help determine risk factors and enhance treatment.
Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), these investments will support cutting edge research opportunities, such as:
- Prevention and Cancer Vaccine Development
Cancers caused by viruses can often beprevented by vaccinating people before they become infected, as demonstrated by thevaccine for cervical cancer and other cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Unique or signature genetic changes in cancers may also be targeted by cancer vaccines. We will speed the development, evaluation, and optimization of safe cancer vaccines targeting unique features of individual cancers. - Early Cancer Detection
Recent advances in genomic and proteomic technologies have greatly increased the sensitivity of methods to detect markers of cancer, raising the possibility of using such methods for screening and early detection of cancer. NIH will invest in the development and evaluation of minimally invasive screening assays to enable more sensitive diagnostic tests for cancer. - Cancer Immunotherapy and Combination Therapy
This initiative will work to extend the early successes of immunotherapy for cancer treatment to virtually all solid tumors by harnessing the power of the body’s immune system by supporting basic research to increase understanding of how the immune system can be used to modify cancer cells and their activities. In addition, the initiative aims to develop and test new combination therapies. Working with health care providers in the community, as well as through existing clinical trials networks, new approaches to prevent and treat cancer will be tested more quickly and efficiently, with special emphasis made to include under-represented populations. This outreach would also include concerted efforts to narrow cancer health disparity gaps by increasing utilization of standard of care recommendations for cancer prevention, screening, and treatment.
- Genomic Analysis of Tumor and Surrounding Cells
A greater understanding of cancer genomics—the genetic changes that occur within the cancer cell and in surrounding and immune cells responding to the cancer—will advance both immunotherapy and targeted drug therapy and help lead to an increased ability to enhance patient response to therapy. - Enhanced Data Sharing
Data sharing can break down barriers between institutions, including those in the public and private sectors, to enable maximum knowledge gained and patients helped. The cancer initiative will encourage data sharing and support the development of new tools to leverage knowledge about genomic abnormalities, as well as the response to treatment and long-term outcomes. - Oncology Center of Excellence
The FDA will develop a virtual Oncology Center of Excellence to leverage the combined skills of regulatory scientists and reviewers with expertise in drugs, biologics, and devices. This center will expedite the development of novel combination products and support an integrated approach in:- evaluating products for the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer
- supporting the continued development of companion diagnostic tests, and the use of combinations of drugs, biologics and devices to treat cancer
- developing and promoting the use of methods created through the science ofprecision medicine
- Pediatric Cancer
New technology to develop drug libraries and screens for inhibitors against a wide variety of targets will find new therapies, which will be of particular benefit for pediatric populations. The initiative will intensify efforts to collect and analyze tumor specimens from the rarest childhood cancers, enlisting participation from the pediatric oncology community. Clinical data about course of disease and response to therapy will also be included to enable the research community to develop new approaches to treat childhood cancers. - Vice President's Exceptional Opportunities in Cancer Research Fund
To launch the National Cancer Moonshot, scientists, cancer physicians, advocates, philanthropic organizations, and representatives of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry will need to work together to focus on major new innovations in the understanding of and treatment for cancer. The work that the Vice President will be undertaking will ensure just that—bringing together all parties, breaking down silos, and sharing data to generate new ideas and new breakthroughs. This proposed new fund will be focused on high-risk, high-return research identified by the collaborative work and new ideas stimulated by the research community as part of this work.
The National Cancer Moonshot requires a whole-of-government approach, marshalling resources from across the Federal government to address this singular goal. Over time, other agencies will make new investments in this effort, beginning with the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA).
DOD provides tens of millions of dollars annually to support a wide range of cancer research initiatives and continues to increase this work. Most notably, DoD funds three Cancer Centers of Excellence, which focus on Breast, Prostate, and Gynecologic cancers, enabling cutting-edge treatment and research on cancers in our warfighters and other beneficiaries. The world-class Murtha Cancer Treatment Center at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, with support from NCI, provides a multidisciplinary approach to offer the highest standards of care for treating cancer diseases. In addition, DOD, through Congressional Special Initiative funding and groundbreaking peer-reviewed research, is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in strengthening the understanding, prevention, detection, and treatment of several of the most prevalent and impactful forms of cancer, as well as less common types of cancer associated with exposure to hazardous materials that some of our service members may encounter while on duty.
The VA cancer research portfolio includes close to 250 projects, including 170 clinical studies at VA facilities nationwide. Projects are targeted toward understanding and preventing cancers prevalent in the veteran population, in addition to broader research on veteran populations and disease prevalence. Specific topics being investigated range from the basic biology and genetic underpinning in laboratory-based research to large definitive clinical trials of treatments and approaches to advance care. VA’s Million Veteran Program, with over 445,000 enrolled veterans, 32 percent of whom have reported a cancer diagnosis, provides a potentially rich clinical database for genetic exploration and analyses. This resource will be valuable in investigating genetic contributions to specific cancers and gene targets for potential new treatments. VA’s National Radiation Oncology Program (NROP) is conducting multiple initiatives in cancer research, and its Precision Oncology Program initiative is paving the way for incorporating the results of genetic diagnostic testing to customize medical decision making and treatment for individual patients with cancer.
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