In 2016 as vice president, Joe Biden helped launch the Cancer Moonshot initiative with the goal of accelerating the rate of progress against cancer. The AACR — along with the rest of the cancer advocacy, patient, research, and health care communities — responded with tremendous energy and ingenuity.

In 2022, President Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot and set a new national goal: Reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. A handful of Annual Meeting sessions will highlight the Cancer Moonshot initiative and progress made toward these goals.

“We’re looking forward to discussing the scientific underpinnings of the Cancer Moonshot during multiple occasions at the AACR Annual Meeting,” said Program Committee Chair Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “The Cancer Moonshot is taking a comprehensive, collaborative approach, which matches AACR’s mission and vision.”

President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Reignited
Sunday, April 16 | 1 – 2:15 p.m. ET | Room W230, Convention Center

This major symposium will highlight several pillars of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, with speakers providing a closer look at specific efforts aimed at increasing cancer screening, ensuring greater access to innovative cancer care, and reducing disparities and improving health equity. The symposium will conclude with a Q&A.

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NCI Director’s Address and Fireside Chat
Monday, April 17 | 10:15 – 11 a.m. ET | Chapin Theater, Convention Center

Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, the 16th director of the National Cancer Institute and the first woman to hold the position, will address attendees and then sit for a “fireside chat” with AACR President Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR. An NCI paper on the Cancer Moonshot will be published in the AACR journal Cancer Discovery and the AACR will host an NCI press briefing about the paper during the Annual Meeting.

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FDA Center for Tobacco Products’ Priorities to Address Tobacco Use and Support the Cancer Moonshot
Monday, April 17 | 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET | Room W330, Convention Center

During this major symposium, Brian King, PhD, MPH, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, will discuss the FDA’s priorities for addressing tobacco product use and participate in a discussion with experts from AACR’s Tobacco Products and Cancer Subcommittee.