Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With New Cancer Database, Biden Wants To Destroy Researcher 'Cult Of The Individual'
Vice President Biden on Monday announced the launch of a first-of-its kind, open-access cancer database to allow researchers to better understand the disease and develop more effective treatments. The Genomic Data Commons, a part of the National Cancer Institute, contains the raw genomic and clinical data for 12,000 patients, with more records to come as researchers contribute to it, he said. Besides detailed analyses of the molecular makeup of cancers, the database has information on which treatments were used and how patients responded. (McGinley, 6/6)
Despite efforts by the professional association of oncologists to persuade physicians to treat cancer patients less aggressively at the end of their lives, that is not happening, researchers reported on Monday. (Begley, 6/6)
