Guide

　　   Recently, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the relaunch of the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative, which he launched and led six years ago as Vice President, pledging to reduce the age-adjusted cancer death rate in the United States by at least 50% over the next 25 years.

　　Biden stated that the Cancer Moonshot also aims to improve the survival experience of cancer patients and their families after diagnosis. The mission of the initiative is to "end the cancer we know"; to help restore cancer screenings interrupted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; and to ensure all Americans benefit from cancer prevention, detection, and diagnosis.

　　As early as 2016, then-Vice President Biden launched and led the Cancer Moonshot initiative. However, with President Trump taking office in 2017, the plan was shelved. Biden said that restarting the Cancer Moonshot was one of the reasons he ran for president.

　　Unlike in 2016, Biden did not announce or promise funding support for the relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot this time, but he has formulated a series of measures aimed at expanding and deepening government involvement in the fight against cancer.

　　 "Cancer Moonshot"

　　  In 2015, Biden's eldest son Beau died of glioblastoma at the age of 46.

　　Biden's second son was unmotivated and surrounded by negative news, so great hopes were placed on his eldest son Beau. However, Beau died young from cancer, which was a huge blow to Biden. As then Vice President of the United States, Biden was determined to conquer cancer and launched and led the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative the following year.

　　Biden said that the medical community has made remarkable progress in genomics, cancer immunotherapy, virotherapy, and combination therapies, but it is necessary to break down data barriers and do everything possible to accelerate cancer research. The overall goal of the initiative is to double the pace of cancer research progress, achieving in 5 years what was originally planned for 10 years. Biden hopes to integrate U.S. scientific resources and conquer cancer in 12 years, similar to the moon landing achievement.

　　However, this ambitious "Cancer Moonshot" was shelved when President Trump took office in 2017.

　　Now, as President of the United States, Biden openly stated when announcing the relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot that restarting the initiative was one of the reasons he ran for president. Since he is now president, the plan is undoubtedly a White House priority.

　　The relaunched Cancer Moonshot will create a "Cancer Cabinet" composed of officials from numerous federal agencies focused on cancer. Participating agencies will include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Cancer Institute; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, among others.

　　 As part of the relaunch, the Biden administration has planned a series of initiatives:

　　1. Establish a White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator within the Executive Office of the President.

　　2. Issue a "call to action" to convey the urgent need to increase early cancer screening. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has missed over 9.5 million cancer screenings. The White House calls for efforts to promote home screening, especially for colorectal cancer and HPV, through community health networks established during the pandemic for mobile screening.

　　3. Conduct cancer screening through the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) cancer center network, especially for high-risk populations. The Biden administration recently released a report titled "Closing the Cancer Screening Gap" to increase equity and accessibility in cancer screening.

　　4. Lead research and evaluation of multi-cancer detection methods by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

　　5. Accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, especially in high-risk groups, through screening and HPV vaccination.

　　6. The White House will organize a Cancer Moonshot Summit to bring together federal agencies, cancer patient organizations, biopharmaceutical companies, researchers, and public health and healthcare experts to highlight innovation, progress, and new commitments to ending cancer.

　　7. Continue the White House Cancer Roundtable dialogue series, inviting experts, cancer patients, and caregivers to discuss cancer prevention, early detection, clinical trial design, childhood cancer, and equity.

　　8. Urge businesses, foundations, academic institutions, the healthcare industry, and all Americans to work with the government to reduce the deadly impact of cancer and improve the experience of cancer patients in diagnosis, treatment, and survival. Encourage individuals, organizations, companies, and institutions to share action plans on the White House Cancer Moonshot website.

　　 Support and Opposition Voices

　　 The relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot has received support from Friends of Cancer Research, a cancer research funding advocacy organization. Its founder, Ellen Sigal, said this ambitious new plan will help change current cancer care and treatment and help end cancer.

　　However, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) holds a more cautious stance on the Cancer Moonshot. CEO Stephen J. Ubi said they support the Biden administration's cancer-fighting efforts but do not support its control over drug prices. To succeed, the Cancer Moonshot should not undermine the innovation engine of drug development and should reject the Biden administration's imposed pricing limits on innovative drugs.

　　In December 2021, Biden proposed a "high excise tax" on pharmaceutical companies that refuse to participate in Medicare price negotiations and set a $2,000 out-of-pocket medical cost cap for seniors aged 65 and older. He also proposed starting in 2023 to negotiate Medicare prices for the 10 most expensive drugs with only one supplier, with new prices taking effect in 2025. The number of drugs negotiated will increase annually, reaching 20 by 2028.

　　In November 2020, when Biden won the presidential election, Nature published an article stating that although Biden was elected president, he faced a deeply polarized America, and the damage to science caused by Trump's four-year presidency would take decades to repair.

　　Nature also listed five major scientific issues Biden would face as president: responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing climate change, advancing science, space exploration, and international research cooperation.

　　 But so far, at least the top priority has not been achieved; the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. has not been effectively controlled and is instead worsening.

　　 Current Cancer Situation in the United States

　　 On January 12, 2022, the American Cancer Society journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians released the latest report: Cancer Statistics 2022. The report estimates 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 new cancer deaths in the United States in 2022, with lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer death, averaging 350 deaths per day from lung cancer.

　　   The report shows that from 1991 to 2019, the cancer death rate in the United States declined by 32%, a huge success largely attributed to tobacco control, as well as advances in medical technology and screening.

　　From 2015 to 2019, the risk of cancer death in the United States decreased by about 2% annually, compared to 1% annually in the 1990s. The accelerated decline in cancer mortality demonstrates the power of prevention, screening, early diagnosis, and treatment technologies.

　　From 2014 to 2018, the rate of diagnosis of early and mid-stage lung cancer patients increased by 4.5% annually, sharply reducing the probability of late-stage diagnosis, which raised the 3-year survival rate for lung cancer from 21% to 31%.

　　The report also points out that at least 42% of new cancer cases are preventable, as 19% of cancers are caused by smoking, and at least 18% are caused jointly by overweight, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise. This also indicates there is significant room to reduce cancer incidence and mortality risks.

　　According to the 2020 global cancer statistics published by CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, there were an estimated 19.29 million new cancer cases and 9.96 million new cancer deaths worldwide in 2020. Among them, breast cancer had 2.26 million new cases, surpassing lung cancer's 2.2 million cases, with breast cancer replacing lung cancer as the world's most common cancer.

　 　Notably, China had 4.57 million new cancer cases in 2020, accounting for 23.7% of the global total, and 3 million new cancer deaths, accounting for 30% globally. China ranks first in the world for both new cancer cases and deaths.

　　In comparison, the United States had 2.28 million new cancer cases in 2020, accounting for 11.8% of the global total, and 610,000 new cancer deaths, accounting for 6.1% globally.

　　From this data, there remains a significant gap between China and the United States in reducing cancer mortality rates.

　　Globally, due to the aging population, the cancer burden is expected to increase by 50% in 2040 compared to 2020, with nearly 30 million new cancer cases expected. This is most pronounced in countries undergoing social and economic transitions.

　　From this perspective, incorporating cancer prevention and treatment interventions into national health plans is a key approach to reducing the future global cancer burden and narrowing the widening gap between developing and developed countries.

       Source: Yimai Tong | Author: Wang Cong | Editor: Jing Min

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