Major cancer project announced - KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) - MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas says it's launching a new war on cancer.

The new "Moon Shots" program was created to reduce the number of deaths from a handful of cancers. The research center's president says they were inspired by John F. Kennedy's determination to go to the moon in the 1960s.

MD Anderson says this is an unprecedented effort to speed up the conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances. Scientists plan to focus on five illnesses: lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia and melanoma.

The center is backing this venture with a $3 billion investment over the next ten years. It launches in February.