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A Statement from NCCN in Support of a Moonshot to Cure Cancer
NCCN Supports President Obama and Vice President Biden in their Moonshot to Cure Cancer Initiative
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) applauds and supports the urgency of President Obama and Vice President Biden’s Moonshot Initiative to Cure Cancer throughout the world, announced Tuesday during the State of the Union Address and outlined in a statement from the Vice President.
“Vice President Biden’s call to leading cancer centers to break down silos and reach unprecedented levels of cooperation to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment, and for the oncology community to improve communication so that the care provided to patients at the world’s best cancer centers is available to everyone who needs it, echoes the work and mission of NCCN and our Member Institutions,” said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. “NCCN stands with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and their Administration on this crucial initiative, and we look forward to working to advance the goals of the initiative. It is time that people stop dying of cancer.”
As an alliance of 26 of the nation’s leading cancer centers, NCCN’s mission is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives, and we do so by providing state-of-the-art cancer treatment information to cancer fighters throughout the world in both academic and community settings.
NCCN’s expert panel members volunteer more than 26,000 hours per year to develop and continuously update clinical treatment guidelines that document evidence-based, consensus-driven management to ensure that cancer patients receive preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and supportive services that lead to optimal outcomes. The NCCN Guidelines assist in the decision-making process of individuals involved in cancer care—including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, payers, patients and their families—with the goal of advancing patient care in the fight against cancer. In 2015, nearly 6.5 million copies the NCCN Guidelines® were downloaded or distributed in the United States and across the globe.
“As a treating physician of patients with cancer, personally as a cancer patient, and as a son whose parents both died of cancer, this is something I confront and think about every day. I applaud Vice President Biden’s Moonshot Initiative to Cure Cancer. His vision of breaking down silos, funding cancer researchers, enhancing the care provided by community physicians, stimulating discovery by the pharmaceutical industry, and bringing the cancer community together will be of tremendous help,” said Samuel M. Silver, MD, PhD, Assistant Dean for Research and Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Chair, NCCN Board of Directors. “However, we must realize that even though we are on the cusp of many important breakthroughs, cancer is a difficult disease caused by many different mechanisms, and it will require funding of everything from basic research to translational research, to important and well-thought-out trials, to the delivery of cancer care to our patients in order to make this initiative successful.”
“Every cancer patient with an incurable disease feels hope that a discovery will save them, but hears the loudly ticking clock as times runs out. Vice President Biden is demanding that exciting discoveries—within reach today—be treated with the urgency they deserve. What better way to honor Beau Biden's memory than to create opportunities that translate the research into successful treatment before time runs out,” said Terry S. Langbaum, MAS, Chief Administrative Officer, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and Member, NCCN Board of Directors.
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