VP Biden in Chicago speaking about cancer 'Moonshot'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Vice President Joe Biden brought his fight for cancer cures to Chicago Monday to unveil a new public database on treatment strategies.

Biden announced the new database during his visit to the University of Chicago.

The system is based near Washington, D.C., and stores treatment information on 12,000 cancer patients.

It's designed to increase sharing of information about tumors and responsiveness and to speed up development of lifesaving treatments.

Biden also addressed the world's largest gathering of cancer doctors about the White House's National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. Announced during President Barack Obama's 2016 State of the Union address, the initiative is tasked with finding ways to cure cancer and ways to make treatments more widely available.

Vice President Biden's son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015.