Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO
On February 2, 2022, Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, Board Chair of the Association for Clinical Oncology, issued the following statement:
“The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) applauds President Biden for his decision to relaunch the Cancer Moonshot with ambitious and worthy goals of reducing the death rate from cancer and improving the experience of patients and families living with cancer.
“We’ve already seen how much progress can be made when the weight of the Administration and Congress joins experienced and dedicated oncologists, cancer researchers, and the patient community…. Since the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot was announced in 2016, the National Cancer Institute has provided more than $1 billion to more than 240 research projects to speed advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. A reinvigorated Cancer Moonshot could help us make even greater progress toward these goals and drive action on new opportunities.
“We are especially glad to see that the proposal includes a major focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion. For all the progress we’ve made to improve cancer prevention, screening, care, and outcomes for patients, stubborn disparities … persist. ASCO and other stakeholders have been working on this issue for more than a decade, and with support from the Administration, we hope we’ll be able to accelerate this progress and make headway toward true equity in cancer.
“We are also encouraged that the Administration specifically acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in routine cancer screenings…. We need to reverse this trend—and quickly—to give patients the best long-term outlook.
“ASCO is grateful for President Biden’s continuing leadership and personal commitment to reducing cancer’s burden on patients and families. This announcement is just the starting point, but we are hopeful it will be a catalyst to reinvigorate our collective progress against cancer….”
© 2022. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
