The Cancer Center
The Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine was organized in November 2002 with the principle missions of fostering state of the art care for our patients, facilitating outstanding collaborative cancer research and providing exceptional training in cancer medicine and research for our medical students, graduate students, residents, and fellows. A strong commitment to community outreach, education and prevention with a particular focus on ethnic despairities compliments our overall program.
The multidisciplinary research programs organized in the Cancer Center will synergize with the many diverse programs within the college and also within the many excellent institutions in the Texas Medical Center and surrounding area, including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center, and Rice University. Our clinical and research programs compliment those now benefiting the Houston community and region.
Organizationally, the Cancer Center encompasses the programs and activities at Baylor College of Medicine and its six hospital partners:
- Baylor College of Medicine
- Ben Taub General Hospital
- Texas Children's Hospital
- St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
- Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of our member institutions and faculty, we were successful in our application for a three-year National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Planning Grant in September 2003. I am confident that with the resources of our member institutions and the hard work by the Cancer Center faculty that we will compete successfully for a Cancer Center support grant leading to the designation of an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center by 2006, one of only two such centers in the state. The Cancer Center is already one of the most active in the nation and we now treat more new cancer patients than many already established cancer centers nationwide. Our cumulative federal funding for cancer research puts us in the top 30% of existing comprehensive cancer centers.
Today, several of our cancer research programs are recognized as being among the top programs in the country and with the acquisition of our Cancer Center Grant and NCI designation, our research, educational and clinical programs will continue to grow and mature, ensuring our continued leadership role in the fight against cancer in the 21st century.
C. Kent Osborne, MD
Acting Director, The Cancer Center
The Tina and Dudley Sharp Chair in Oncology,
Professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology,
Director, Breast Center