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“Moonshot” Efforts in MM Are Ahead of Schedule

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On September 12, 2022, President Joe Biden delivered a speech detailing his “moonshot” vision to end cancer, named after the powerful speech given by President John F. Kennedy when the first American was sent to the moon. The Cancer Moonshot program, an initiative aimed at reducing cancer deaths by 50% in 25 years, was a prominent reason behind President Biden’s decision to run for office, he stated. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health was established in February to improve the government’s ability to drive biomedical research in preventing, detecting, and treating diseases. To further these efforts, President Biden announced a new executive order to launch a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative to promote the development of technology that will help end cancer.

A recent article from the International Myeloma Foundation detailed the importance of research into blood testing for multiple myeloma (MM) as a major area of interest in this initiative. Cancer Moonshot coordinator to the White House Danielle Carnival stated, “One of the most promising technologies has been the development of blood tests that offer the promise of detecting multiple cancers in a single blood test and really imagining the impact that could have on our ability to detect cancer early and in a more equitable way. We think the best way to get us to the place where those are realized is to really test out the technologies we have today and see what works and what really has an impact on extending lives.”

Black Swan Research Initiative® (BSRI) has already been working on research focused on blood testing for early diagnosis and monitoring. BSRI’s blood testing initiatives have included large-scale screening of patient blood samples (the iStopMM project), exploring the role of mass spectrometry testing in blood, testing DNA mutations in blood, identifying early disease and the potential for prevention, and better understanding the overall role of testing and early intervention. Described as the “Myeloma Moonshot,” BSRI’s efforts represent an important area of focus for MM research that they believe is “ahead of schedule.”

The Cancer Moonshot program represents a foundational example of innovation and collaboration to improve the lives of all people with cancer, and the initiative is expected to have a major impact on earlier detection of MM.

Source: International Multiple Myeloma Foundation. Durie BGM. Myeloma Moonshot: Ahead of Schedule. Accessed November 10, 2022. www.myeloma.org/blog/myeloma-moonshot-ahead-of-schedule.

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