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Vice President Joe Biden visited Cleveland Thursday to discuss cancer research and the Moonshot Initiative. Before going in for his speech, he toured screening buses.

(Robin Goist, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Vice President Joe Biden visited Cleveland Thursday to discuss cancer research, his first stop after Moonshot Initiative summits on Wednesday brought together 270 communities to talk about the disease.

The Moonshot Initiative, introduced by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address, aims to accelerate developments in cancer research. Biden is at the helm of the effort.

Here's some key takeaways from the vice president's speech at Langston Hughes Community Health and Education Center:

The initiative is working to fast-track developments in cancer research. Biden repeated throughout the speech that the Moonshot Initiative's goal is to accomplish 10 years of progress in five years. He explained that a lot of progress is being made to cure cancer, but the program aims to clear out obstacles in the way of advancement and communication.

"There's a new sense of urgency," he said.

Collaboration is key. New conversations between different disciplines, like gene research and immunology, can lead to new solutions. The summits brought together people from the medical fields, foundations and patients to discuss new solutions and cancer research. One took place in Cleveland, hosted by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, which treats more than 70 percent of cancer cases in Northeast Ohio.

There's strong progress being made in Cleveland. Biden made his first stop in Cleveland for a reason, he said. The Case Comprehensive Center, a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, and Cleveland Clinic, is partnered in the Moonshot Initiative. For example, the center is working with George Washington University on programs focusing on smoking cessation and HPV vaccination.

"There have been naysayers -- not in Cleveland," said Stan Gerson, director of UH Seidman Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Part of the program is prevention efforts. That includes increasing screening opportunities and education efforts in neighborhoods.

"We can prevent up to 50 percent of cancer cases," Biden said.

This includes private companies. For example, Biden talked about incentivizing sunscreen companies to increase research to improve their products, something he said he's been told hasn't been really done in 20 years.

This is personal. Not only to Biden, whose son, Beau, died of brain cancer, but to everyone. Biden talked about how many people cancer affects. About 14 million new cases were diagnosed in 2012, a number Biden said is estimated to increase to more than 20 million per year by 2025.

Despite making jokes as he arrived on the stage, Biden's tone was serious throughout he speech. Biden said wherever he goes in the world, there's always someone who talks about the initiative and cancer research. He said his goal is to clear through bureaucratic underbrush and bring people together in order to make real progress.

"It's about not giving up hope," he said.