By Andrea Shalal and Garrett Renshaw
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced he would allocate $150 million in new federal funding to develop technology to better help surgeons successfully remove cancerous tumors.
The award, which Biden promoted during a visit to New Orleans, is the latest cash boost in Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot,” a program led by the president and first lady that aims to cut the U.S. cancer death rate by at least half by 2047.
“There is still much more to do, but we know we can do it,” Biden said, stressing the importance of sharing data and information to radically change the fight against cancer.
The White House said that nearly two million Americans are diagnosed with solid tumor cancers each year, and that surgical removal is often the first step in their treatment.
The White House said the next generation of microscopes and imaging technologies could make these surgeries more effective, reducing the need for repeat surgeries and minimizing damage to healthy tissue, ultimately saving and extending lives.
The White House said the administration has invested more than $400 million in its first two years to accelerate progress in how cancer is prevented, detected and treated.
The eight award recipients include Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington, according to the White House.
An additional round of funding is likely to be released this winter for more research, said Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, head of the Health Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Biden spoke on the campus of Tulane University, where his daughter Ashley is studying cultural anthropology. He joked that it was nice to be back in college without having to pay tuition.
Tulane University President Michael Fitts said the university will receive about $23 million of the $140 million announced Tuesday. He said the technology could revolutionize cancer surgery because it would allow surgeons to see if any surrounding tissue is cancerous and remove it before closing the wound.
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