Anika Begay
By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday he will allocate $150 million in new federal funding to develop technologies that better help surgeons successfully remove cancerous tumors.
The award, touted by Biden during a visit to New Orleans, is the latest infusion of money in Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” program, promoted by the president and first lady, which aims to cut the U.S. cancer death rate by at least half by 2047.
“There is still a lot to do, but we know we can do it,” Biden said, emphasizing the importance of sharing data and information to fundamentally change the fight against cancer.
Each year, approximately two million Americans are diagnosed with a solid tumor, and often the first step in treatment is surgical removal, the White House said.
The White House said next-generation microscopes and imaging technology hope to make these surgeries more effective, reducing the need for repeat operations and limiting damage to healthy tissue, ultimately saving and prolonging lives.
In its first two years, the administration has invested more than $400 million to accelerate progress in preventing, detecting and treating cancer, the White House said.
According to the White House, the eight winners of the award include Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington.
Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, director of ARPA-H, said an additional round of funding will likely be provided this winter for further research.
Biden spoke on the campus of Tulane University, where his daughter Ashley studied cultural anthropology. He joked that it was nice to be back in college and not have to pay tuition.
Tulane President Michael Fitts said the university will receive about $23 million of the $140 million announced Tuesday. The technology will revolutionize cancer surgery, he said, because it will allow surgeons to see if surrounding tissue is cancerous and remove it before closing the wound.
