Report sets research priorities for Biden's cancer moonshot

A new report outlines a scientific roadmap for the White House's cancer "moonshot" initiative -- urging research to harness the power of immune-based therapy, and to better tailor treatment by helping more patients get their tumors genetically profiled. Those are among a list of recommendations issued Wednesday by a panel of cancer experts and patient advocates advising the moonshot project on ways to speed progress against the nation's No. 2 killer. Also on the list: Learning what drives childhood cancer, finding ways to minimize the side effects of treatment, and making better use of some proven anti-cancer strategies. For example, about 3 percent of colorectal cancers are fueled by certain inherited genetic mutations -- and the report proposes a pilot project to test all newly diagnosed patients so the relatives of those who harbor the defects could learn if they, too, are at risk. The recommendations mark "a bold but feasible scientific proposal," said Dr. Doug Lowy, acting director of the National Cancer Institute, who will send the panel's report to Vice President Joe Biden's cancer moonshot task force.