Cancer research is a high priority for the DoD and especially for the VA. Researchers in both agencies played an important role in the early stages of the Cancer Moonshot. As part of this initiative, the VA, DoD, and National Cancer Institute joined forces in the Applied Proteogenomics Organizational Learning and Outcomes (APOLLO) project to develop a system to quickly identify unique targets and pathways of cancer for better interventions.
The VA also will provide access to the Million Veteran Program database, and > 20 years of electronic health records data for analysis using the U.S. Department of Energy’s advanced computer systems. The enhanced computational infrastructure provided by the departments will facilitate new studies of cancer genomics. The research will begin with prostate cancer, and it is hoped that the project will help researchers distinguish between those prostate cancers that require aggressive management and the more benign cancers that are less likely to progress.
According to the latest VA budget, its researchers are conducting a broad array of research on cancers common in the veteran population, including prostate, lung, colorectal, bladder, kidney, pancreatic, skin, esophageal, and femalespecific cancers (such as breast and cervical cancer), as well as lymphomas and melanomas. For example, one study is focused on improving palliative care for patients with advanced cancer, and another will enroll 50,000 veterans to compare colorectal cancer screening strategies.
