In a move channeling President John F. Kennedy's plan for a manned space mission, the Biden administration has laid out a similarly ambitious plan: An effort to end cancer as we know it.
The Cancer Moonshot program was announced in February this year. Dr. Graham Colditz joined KMOX to talk about the progress the program has made. He said researchers and doctors have made huge advances in the field.
"We've got better tools to detect early, to classify cancer subtypes, and then to deliver specific treatments for those subtypes," he said. "So we've improved the survival for those diagnosed with cancer."
He added that doctors have also improved their ability to detect cancer early, which means avoiding lots of the toxicities of treatment.
Biden is set to announce a new study that seeks to validate blood tests to screen against multiple types of cancers. Dr. Colditz said those tests have a lot of potential.
"There's already, through the first Moonshot-funded work, to increase access and use of the existing science," he said. "And now the push to bring more of the advances to early detection of even more cancer subtypes that will then be responsive to treatment is one of the key messages in this phase of Moonshot."
Hear more about the Moonshot program and what advances doctors are making to end cancer:
Copyright 2022 KMOX (Audacy). All Rights Reserved.
Follow KMOX | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Listen on the free Audacy app.
Tell your smart speaker to play K M O X.
