President Joe Biden announced Feb. 2, a relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot program, with a goal of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. In addition to the announcement, the President's Cancer Panel also released its latest report, Closing Gaps in Cancer Screening: Connecting People, Communities, and Systems to Improve Equity and Access. The panel chose in 2020–21 to investigate and identify opportunities to address gaps in cancer screening. We appreciate the engagement and willingness of our radiologists that served as members of the Working Group on Cancer Screening.
This report highlights that cancer screening has the potential to save lives and reduce the burden of cancer on individuals, families, communities and the nation. While many in the United States benefit from cancer screening, too many are left behind, resulting in unnecessary suffering and death. Strategies and tools needed to address the current gaps in cancer screening and follow-up care after an abnormal screening test result are available, but they must be innovatively and collaboratively applied to equitably reach all populations. In this report, the Panel identifies four critical goals:
- Improve and align communication.
- Facilitate equitable access.
- Strengthen workforce collaborations.
- Create effective health information technology.
The panel highlights issues and recommendations relevant to specific cancer types. Many challenges and opportunities are common across them:
“We could not be more pleased with the direction that this has taken and firmly believe that there is a real opportunity here for radiology to play an increasing role in three of the four cancers (lung, breast, colon) studied by the President’s Cancer Panel,” said American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Chief Executive Officer William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, FACR.
The ACR has led screening initiatives and has partnered with the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer and Colorectal Cancer Roundtables, which are important coalitions as called out in the report. The radiology community will continue to support the recommendations released in this report to foster improved access and equity to cancer care.
For questions about this report or ACR screening activities, please contact Alicia Blakey, ACR Principal Economic Policy Analyst. More information about the Cancer Moonshot program and how you can assist is on the White House website.