Future cancer research priorities in the USA: a Lancet Oncology Commission.

Jaffee EM1, Dang CV2, Agus DB3, Alexander BM4, Anderson KC4, Ashworth A5, Barker AD6, Bastani R7, Bhatia S8, Bluestone JA9, Brawley O10, Butte AJ5, Coit DG11, Davidson NE12, Davis M13, DePinho RA14, Diasio RB15, Draetta G14, Frazier AL4, Futreal A14, Gambhir SS16, Ganz PA7, Garraway L17, Gerson S18, Gupta S19, Heath J13, Hoffman RI20, Hudis C21, Hughes-Halbert C22, Ibrahim R23, Jadvar H24, Kavanagh B25, Kittles R26, Le QT16, Lippman SM27, Mankoff D28, Mardis ER29, Mayer DK30, McMasters K31, Meropol NJ32, Mitchell B16, Naredi P33, Ornish D5, Pawlik TM34, Peppercorn J35, Pomper MG36, Raghavan D37, Ritchie C5, Schwarz SW38, Sullivan R39, Wahl R38, Wolchok JD40, Wong SL41, Yung A14.

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Abstract

We are in the midst of a technological revolution that is providing new insights into human biology and cancer. In this era of big data, we are amassing large amounts of information that is transforming how we approach cancer treatment and prevention. Enactment of the Cancer Moonshot within the 21st Century Cures Act in the USA arrived at a propitious moment in the advancement of knowledge, providing nearly US$2 billion of funding for cancer research and precision medicine. In 2016, the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) set out a roadmap of recommendations designed to exploit new advances in cancer diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Those recommendations provided a high-level view of how to accelerate the conversion of new scientific discoveries into effective treatments and prevention for cancer. The US National Cancer Institute is already implementing some of those recommendations. As experts in the priority areas identified by the BRP, we bolster those recommendations to implement this important scientific roadmap. In this Commission, we examine the BRP recommendations in greater detail and expand the discussion to include additional priority areas, including surgical oncology, radiation oncology, imaging, health systems and health disparities, regulation and financing, population science, and oncopolicy. We prioritise areas of research in the USA that we believe would accelerate efforts to benefit patients with cancer. Finally, we hope the recommendations in this report will facilitate new international collaborations to further enhance global efforts in cancer control.