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1st appeared 6 August 1999 UCSF Cancer Center Receives National Cancer Institute Designation
There are a total of 59 NCI cancer centers in the country, including those at UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and MD Anderson. 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. 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," said Frank McCormick, director of the UCSF Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute. 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 Debas, 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. "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, 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." Links: The National Cancer Institute Cancer Centers Program Related Daybreak stories: New UCSF Clinical Cancer Facility Breaks Ground A New Era in Cancer Research and Care Source: Abby Sinnott, News Services
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The
UCSF Cancer Center received designation from the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) yesterday, becoming the only NCI-designated cancer center in Northern
California.