The National Cancer Moonshot is generating a great deal of excitement in the childhood cancer community. The initiative, to be headed by Vice President Joseph Biden, calls for increased funding from both the public and private sectors, increased sharing of data among research institutions, and the development of new drugs and treatments for even the rarest childhood cancers. Biden said his goal is to make 10 years’ worth of advances in the next five years and to put an end to cancer.

A press release from the White House noted that much progress has been made in developing new techniques to diagnose and treat cancer, but there is still much work ahead. The National Cancer Moonshot will begin its work with a $1 billion investment authorized by the Obama Administration. Efforts will focus on prevention, vaccine development, early detection, immunotherapy, combination therapy, genomic analysis, and data sharing.