Letter to Vice President Biden Urges Him to Prioritize Prevention in Cancer Moonshot

In a March 17 letter, 72 public health leaders wrote to Vice President Joseph Biden, urging him to prioritize prevention as part of the Cancer Moonshot announced by President Barack Obama at his State of the Union address.

Signed by Dean Linda P. Fried, the letter praises the White House for undertaking the bold initiative while reminding the Vice President that since the beginning of the War on Cancer in 1971, “the most notable cancer successes have been due to the power and efficacy of prevention.” These include dramatic reductions in lung, cervical, colorectal and gastric cancer mortality—each almost wholly thanks to public health interventions like screenings.

The letter quotes from a recent JAMA Oncology commentary by Alfred Neugut, the Myron M. Studner Professor of Cancer Research and professor of Epidemiology, in which he argues for using “the best available tools”—particularly, those from public health—to realize a world free of many types of cancer.

While achievable, this goal will require sustained investment. As Neugut told Transmission in January, progress against cancer takes decades.

“Come 2040, there will be a major decline in cancer mortality thanks to smoking cessation and other public health efforts. That will be spectacular—we just haven’t seen it yet,” he said.  “In heart disease you can see the effects of prevention faster: hypertension control, lipid control, and smoking cessation all have an effect within a couple of years. But in cancer, it can take 20, 30, 40 years to see the effects.”