The University of California, San Francisco Cancer Center has received designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), becoming the only NCI-designated cancer center in Northern California, UCSF officials announced today.
"UCSF's recognition as an NCI Cancer Center, one of only fifty-nine in the country, is a major accomplishment that will have many important benefits for San Francisco and the Bay Area," says Brian Kimes, MD, director of the Office of Centers, Training and Resources at the NCI. "The UCSF cancer center will sustain and nurture the important linkage of cancer research to cancer care and bring the benefits of research directly to the community and region it serves." There are a total of 59 NCI cancer centers in the country, but there are none in Northern California. NCI-designation, which acknowledges the breadth, depth and balance of UCSF's cancer programs, means that the Cancer Center will receive up to $850,000 per year for the next three years. This money will help to fund research infrastructure, shared research facilities and administration at the UCSF Cancer Center.
"NCI-designation is a testimonial to our commitment to translational and clinical research," says Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, director of the UCSF Cancer Center. "It is also a recognition of the unique structure we have in place that encourages collaboration between clinical and lab scientists, thus fostering the translation of laboratory discoveries into new therapies for improved patient care."
After the initial three-year funding period, the UCSF Cancer Center is eligible for a five-year NCI renewal grant. Typically, this grant amounts to 20 percent of the total NCI funding an institution receives to support peer-reviewed cancer research studies.
Currently, UCSF receives $25 million from the NCI to support 94 cancer research projects, and this amount is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Taking into account other external funding sources, current year cancer center research funds total $74 million. But the significance of the designation extends beyond funding, UCSF officials say. It will help turn UCSF into a major player in the "war against cancer" by increasing treatment and research opportunities for patients and scientists. The designation also will help to attract more world-class scientists and clinicians to UCSF.
"Achieving designation as a NCI cancer center means that citizens of Northern California will have access to the broad spectrum of cancer diagnosis and care, including experimental therapies, which is of incalculable benefit to our patients," says Haile T. Debas, MD, vice chancellor of medical affairs and dean of the UCSF School of Medicine.
To gain designation from the NCI, an institution must demonstrate scientific excellence and the ability to integrate a diversity of research approaches on cancer. To do this, institutions must have a collaborative infrastructure like UCSF's that supports translational research by bringing researchers from various disciplines together.
Under the leadership of McCormick, who joined UCSF in January of 1997, the Cancer Center has been reconfigured so that lab scientists, clinical investigators, epidemiologists, and providers of patient care work closely together on a specific cancer and cancer type. Collaboration across disciplines ensures that insights gained in the lab can be applied to developing new and effective cancer treatments, McCormick says.
For instance, researchers at the UCSF Cancer Center have developed a new procedure, called the genome array analysis, which detects specific genetic alterations underlying individual tumors. These classifications could ultimately allow researchers to develop drugs for tumors that have specific genetic abnormalities and enable clinicians to tailor treatment regimens to individual patients according to genetic characteristics of a particular tumor.
"Ten years ago, UCSF did not even have a plan for a Cancer Center. We have traveled a long way since then," says J. Michael Bishop, MD, UCSF chancellor. "Scientists and physicians at our Cancer Center have mounted a multipronged assault on cancer. All of this is done in an integrated manner, bringing scientists and physicians together in a common cause."
Although the UCSF Cancer Center developed only in the last decade, the university has been a progressive force in cancer sciences for the past 50 years. In the mid-1970's, Bishop and Harold Varmus, MD, discovered the cancer-causing genes called oncogenes. Their Nobel Prize-winning work opened the doors for exploring the genetic mistakes that cause cancer, forming the basis for some of the most important cancer research happening today.
The UCSF Cancer Center, comprised of 260 members representing basic, clinical and population scientists, has 13 program areas, ten of which are organized around specific organs or disease sites (see attachment).
Members of the Cancer Center collaborate under the roofs of five university facilities, two of which are dedicated solely to cancer care and research. These two cancer facilities are located adjacent to one another at UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center campus, a convenience that allows clinicians and researchers to meet regularly and work closely together.
In addition, a new five-story, 88,000 square foot building is currently being built at UCSF/Mount Zion, part of UCSF Stanford Health Care, and is slated for completion this year. The new building will function as a clinical component to the Cancer Research Institute that opened in 1997 at UCSF/Mount Zion.
"The completion of the Cancer Research Institute and new clinical cancer building and NCI designation provide tremendous momentum for building an organization at UCSF that will develop innovative and improved technologies, therapies, diagnostic and prevention mechanisms, and patient outreach programs," McCormick says.
- PATIENT CARE:
The number of newly diagnosed cancer patients seen at four of the UCSF and UCSF-affiliated medical centers is approximately 3,200 per year. More important, the number of patient visits has increased steadily--from 17,000 in 1995 to 31,000 in the past year--as UCSF has consolidated and expanded its clinical cancer operation at UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center. - CLINICAL RESEARCH:
Patients benefit dramatically from rapid access to innovative clinical research. As UCSF has expanded its clinical cancer facilities at UCSF/Mount Zion, more patients are able to participate in clinical trials, and the number of UCSF research protocols has increased proportionately. In 1997, 77 new clinical trials were opened, and 735 patients were enrolled in studies overall. Clinical trials of new pharmaceutical agents, gene therapies, vaccines, complementary therapies, as well as improvements in existing drug regimens and radiotherapeutic treatments are underway at UCSF. - BASIC SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH:
The work of laboratory scientists focuses on understanding normal cellular processes and replication, and discovering the underlying molecular and genetic causes of cancer when these processes go awry. UCSF Cancer Center lab researchers are committed to moving basic scientific insights beyond model systems and pursuing their relevance for cancer prevention and control. - EPIDEMIOLOGY, PREVENTION AND CONTROL:
Programs in cancer epidemiology, prevention and control concentrate on the behavioral, environmental, and genetic factors that affect the risk of developing certain cancers. Researchers also look at the effectiveness of prevention strategies in the community. - COMMUNITY OUTREACH, PREVENTION AND PATIENT INFORMATION SERVICES:
UCSF has an extensive Cancer Resource Center (CRC) located on the first floor of the clinical cancer building at UCSF/Mount Zion. The CRC provides patients, their families, and others with information about medical conditions, treatment options, nutrition, pain management, stress reduction, relaxation and community resources. The CRC maintains a significant collection of books, videos, and audiotapes; provides access to the Web and specialized health databases; and offers personalized research assistance to patients. The CRC also hosts nineteen diverse support groups, exercise classes, and workshops for patients and their families and friends. All of the CRC's services and classes are free. For more information on the UCSF Cancer Center, check out their web site at http://cc.ucsf.edu/ or call the UCSF Cancer Resource Center at 415-885-3627.
NOTE TO THE MEDIA: To interview Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, or other UCSF cancer experts about NCI-designation, please contact Abby Sinnott in the UCSF News Office at 415-885-7277.