March 17, 2016 – Moonshot

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Anchor lead:  What’s the benefit of a federal government moonshot at cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports

What’s the practical implication of President Obama’s announced ‘moonshot’ at cancer?  William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, responds.

Nelson:  What types of things can be done within the federal government to better coordinate different agencies and authorities, ranging from the National Cancer Institute to Health and Human Services generally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who provide payment for a lot of cancer care, the Food and Drug Administration that evaluates new technologies that can be used in the clinic, is to make sure that they’re all on the same page and perhaps ever better coordinated.  :28

Nelson says he views this federal position as both a challenge for the vast numbers of those involved in research relative to cancer and a beacon of hope to those whose lives are or have been affected by the disease.  He believes a lot of basic science as well as treatment strategies are bearing fruit and bringing coordination to that endeavor will benefit everyone.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.