Program Is Launched to Develop Novel Technologies for Tumor Removal

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health has launched a first-of-its-kind program to develop novel technologies that will allow surgeons to remove malignant tumors with more precision and accuracy. The Precision Surgical Interventions (PSI) program is part of the Biden Administration’s broader Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to prevent 4 million cancer deaths by 2047 and improve cancer care. 

The official White House press release notes that surgery is often a first treatment option for the approximately 2 million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year. However, technological limits to distinguish between healthy tissue and tumors can “lead to repeat surgeries, a more difficult recovery, and cancer recurrence, as well as higher health care costs.”

The PSI program will solicit proposals for methods and techniques to improve visibility of cancer and other critical anatomical structures during surgery, and multiple grant awards will be offered based on quality of proposals and availability of funds. To help ensure that methods and techniques can be adopted into real-world practice, awardees will be required to consult with surgeons.

A Proposers Day for interested research teams is scheduled for September 7 in Chicago.

Beyond this project, several ACS Fellows have taken leadership roles in federal cancer programs in recent years or been invited to participate in Cancer Moonshot activities:

• ACS Regent Carol L. Brown, MD, FACS, joined the President’s Cancer Panel earlier in 2023.
• Monica Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, was appointed Director of the National Cancer Institute in 2022.
• Timothy W. Mullett, MD, MBA, FACS, Chair of the ACS Commission on Cancer, participated in a forum hosted by the White House focused on expanding equitable access to smoking cessation programs.