他曾是副总统，更是抗癌斗士

美国前副总统乔·拜登成立了一家新的非营利组织，名为“拜登抗癌行动”，成员包括知名癌症专家大卫·阿古斯博士、前美国国家经济委员会主任杰夫·齐恩茨等。上周四上午多位成员在《财富》联合发表了一篇文章，阐述了新机构的使命。他们写道：“拜登抗癌行动希望解决拖延抗癌行动的机制和机构性问题，为现有数十家抗癌基金会的工作提供补充并加快进程，而非做同质化努力。”

这是拜登抗癌战役的最新进展。以下简要介绍了他为何对抗癌满腔热情，为何发起抗癌行动，以及具体目标。

早年环保工作

拜登对抗癌症的源头始于从政初期。1972年当选参议员以后，拜登主张减少有害气体排放，积极支持环保立法和监管。担任参议员多年，他一直坚持不懈，参与支持多个环保法案，包括监测石油与天然气烟囱排放物的汞含量，并要求美国环保署（EPA）评估风险。有大量证据证明，空气质量等环境因素会提高罹患癌症的风险。

长子患癌

2013年，拜登的长子、前特拉华州首席检察官博·拜登确诊患脑癌，拜登由此体会到癌症带来的切肤之痛。两年后博去世，年仅46岁。因丧子之痛，拜登决定放弃竞选2016年美国民主党总统候选人。

抗癌大计

博·拜登去世后不久，时任总统巴拉克·奥巴马让拜登指挥全国的抗癌行动。（奥巴马本人曾呼吁，让美国成为第一个治愈癌症的国家。）任内发布的最后一份国情咨文中，奥巴马宣布成立抗癌“登月计划”团队，任命拜登为负责人。

“去年，副总统拜登说要搞一个新的登月计划，即推动美国治愈癌症。”去年1月奥巴马在国情咨文讲话中说。他提到了拜登曾协助美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）筹措资金。他表示，“今晚，我宣布启动新的全国行动进一步为理想努力。过去四十年里，拜登在很多事情上做了很多先期努力，所以我任命拜登负责总体指挥。为了失去的爱人，为了等待挽救的家庭，让我们共同努力，让美国成为彻底治愈癌症的国家吧。”

基因组数据共享

拜登很快投身新的登月计划，邀请美国医疗领域官员、癌症研究机构、医药公司等多个领域的相关人士参加一系列会议和战略会晤。2016年6月，他在美国临床肿瘤学会（ASCO）年会上发表了主旨演讲，该会议是全球癌症研究领域规模最大的，与会者超过3万人。

讲话中拜登宣布设立新的联邦政府数据库“基因组数据共享计划”，隶属国家癌症研究所（NCI）。该机构的目的是什么？主要是协助潜心研究的人员和机构分享数据，促进癌症治疗。“从现在起，凡是NCI资助的试验，所有信息都必须提交至数据库，”拜登说，“想象一下所有研究人员通力合作的场景。”

去年秋天，美国卫生及公共服务部（HHS）与NIH确定了一些新的法规，规定政府资助的研究者如果没能及时分享临床试验研究数据，将面临经济处罚。

拜登抗癌行动

卸下副总统之位后，拜登继续致力于消除攻克癌症的结构性障碍，力度甚至较在任时加倍。今年3月，拜登出席了在德州奥斯汀举行的音乐、科技与艺术节“西南偏南”（SXSW）。拜登告诉现场听众，他曾转告奥巴马总统，他“原本很乐意成为领导人们战胜癌症的总统。”

今年5月举行的第二届《财富》年度头脑风暴健康大会上，拜登发表了主旨演讲。他表示，拜登抗癌行动将成为下一个登月计划，他将继续解决数据孤岛，药品监管流程缓慢，以及抗癌药成本高等问题。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林

A History of Joe Biden’s War on Cancer

Former Vice President Joe Biden has launched a new nonprofit called the Biden Cancer Initiative. Several of Biden's compatriots in that organization, including renowned cancer specialist Dr. David Agus and former National Economic Council director Jeff Zients, have a piece up on Fortune this morning describing its mission. "The Biden Cancer Initiative will complement and accelerate, not duplicate, the work of the scores of cancer foundations that exist today by addressing the institutional and structural issues that slow down progress in fighting all forms of cancer," they write.

This is the latest salvo in the Vice President's war on cancer. Here's a brief history of what led to his passion for the issue, and the initiatives and goals he's taken on in the fight.

Early environmental work

Biden's history with combating cancer arguably began in the nascent years of his career. After being elected to the Senate in 1972, Biden became a major proponent of environmental protection legislation and regulations to cut harmful emissions. He continued those efforts throughout his expansive career in the Senate, signing on to legislation to include oil and gas smokestacks emissions in mercury regulations and requiring Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessments. There is significant evidence that environmental factors, including air quality, can increase cancer risks.

Beau Biden's cancer

The former vice president's involvement with cancer became personal when his late son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013. Two years later, the younger Biden died at the age of 46, eventually prompting his father's decision not to run for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president.

The Cancer Moonshot

Soon after the Beau Biden tragedy, then-President Barack Obama put Biden into the forefront of a national cancer fight. (Obama himself had previously called for making America the country that finds a cure for cancer.) During his final State of the Union address, Obama announced a National Cancer Moonshot task force and appointed Biden to head it.

"Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer," said Obama during his speech last January, adding that Biden previously worked to boost funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all."

A Genomic Data Commons

Biden quickly got to work on the initiative, setting up meetings and strategy sessions with a variety of stakeholders including U.S. health officials, cancer research institutes, drug companies, and others. In June 2016, he delivered the keynote speech at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) annual meeting—the largest cancer conference in the world with more than 30,000 attendees.

In that address, Biden announced a new federal Genomic Data Commons that would be housed under the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Its purpose? To get reticent researchers and institutions to share their data and hasten cures. "All information from trials funded by NCI from this point on will have to be submitted to the database," said Biden. "Imagine if you all worked together."

Last fall, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and NIH finalized new rules that would cost government-funded researchers a financial penalty if they fail to post their clinical trial researchers in a timely manner.

The Biden Cancer Initiative

After leaving the White House, Biden has continued—and even doubled down on—his dedication to fighting the structural barriers to finding cancer cures. During an appearance at the South By Southwest (SXSW) music, technology, and arts festival in Austin, Texas in March, Biden told the audience that he had relayed to President Obama that he "would have loved to have been the president who presided over the end of cancer as we know it."

In May, Biden was the keynote speaker at Fortune's second annual Brainstorm Health conference. There, he stated that the Biden Cancer Initiative would be the next iteration of the Moonshot, and that he would continue to tackle issues like data silos, slow drug regulatory pathways, and the high cost of cancer drugs through the organization.