A message from Ron DePinho, M.D.

Two years ago, MD Anderson launched the most ambitious assault on cancer ever undertaken by a single institution. The Moon Shots Program is well underway, thanks to $212 million in private philanthropy to sustain this unprecedented effort. 

Large multi-disciplinary moon shot teams have been hard at work. Your support has already translated into significant clinical advances. To name a few:

• Creating a practice-changing algorithm for ovarian cancer to guide the use of chemotherapy prior to surgery that’s tripled the rate of complete surgical removal of tumors to more than 80% of the time, dramatically increasing chances for survival
• Leadership in pivotal clinical trials developing safer, more effective targeted therapies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, cutting the use of debilitating chemotherapy combinations from 51% to 15%
• The first “intent to cure” clinical trial for prostate cancer to convert periodic hormone therapy into a single-episode regimen
• The role of the Melanoma Moon Shot and the cancer prevention and control platform in providing expertise to the Texas Legislature, leading to a statewide ban on minors’ tanning bed use, with six other states following suit
• Two new clinical trials that aim to overcome resistance to standard-of-care therapy for myelodysplastic syndromes — one of them the first to deploy immune checkpoint blockade therapy to leukemia

To say that this is a turning point in cancer research and care is an understatement. MD Anderson leads the way, and we’re grateful for loyal supporters like you who understand the role of philanthropy. I look forward to sharing new breakthroughs with you as we enter the Moon Shots Program’s third year. Thank you for joining us in Making Cancer History^®.