Impacts of the Cancer Moonshot Program for Community Oncologists

Since its launch in 2016, the White House's Cancer Moonshot initiative has aimed to facilitate, optimize, and advance research and collaboration in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology^TM, Manmeet Ahluwalia, MD, MBA, FASCO, chief scientific office, chief of medical oncology, deputy director, and Fernandez Family endowed chair in cancer research at the Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute, discusses the implications and impact the program will have for oncologists practicing in community settings.

Transcription:

0:09 | 70% of the care for oncology patients is delivered in the community. So in the last few years, a lot of efforts have been made to enhance the research in the community because not all patients can go to tertiary care centers or academic institutions to get care. So one of the emphases which will happen for community oncologists is there'll be more opportunities for research in terms of delivering a high level of care for these patients. And I think it's good for community oncology.

0:39 | But more importantly, I think it's good for patients. We also do recognize that cancer screenings are going to be big part of recognizing cancers early so that we can find them and cure them. I think a lot of care is given in the community. Hence, a lot of data that is generated in terms of real world evidence is going to come from community oncology. And so the FDA now is willing to look at real-world evidence in terms of even approval of drugs. So I think community oncologists are going to play a critical role in not only the care of the patients that they have delivered for a long period of time, but also further enhancing the preventive measures, research and also quality of life as they provide care to these patients going forward.