Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM receives NCI designation
HOUSTON -- (June 5, 2007) -- The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston has been named a designated cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
A milestone for cancer programs across the country, the NCI designation recognizes BCM's scientific and clinical excellence. Only 63 cancer centers have achieved such status in the United States, and only three in Texas.
"Baylor College of Medicine has been duly recognized for its quality care and innovative research by the National Cancer Institute. This designation will bring more federal research dollars and enhance the exposure of this exceptional facility," said U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). "I congratulate Baylor College of Medicine and look forward to the promising developments in cancer treatment and prevention this designation will yield."
The Duncan Cancer Center joins M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston as one of only two designated cancer centers in Houston. The third cancer center in the state is University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
"It is most appropriate that Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation and home to the largest medical center in the world, have two designated cancer centers," said Dr. Peter G. Traber, BCM president and CEO. "We have collaborated with M.D. Anderson, the top-ranked cancer center in the world, on many projects and, in fact, share a department chair. We see this as an opportunity to continue to strengthen that relationship, with patients receiving the greatest benefit."
Traber said BCM's cancer center, built around a consortium of hospital institutions, brings different strengths to the table in the fight against cancer.
"The Duncan Cancer Center is really multiple institutions – it's Baylor College of Medicine and all it has to offer in basic sciences, patient care, education and community outreach. It's Texas Children's Hospital with the largest pediatric cancer and hematology program in the country. It's Ben Taub General Hospital and the outstanding care it provides to the community's indigent population. And it's the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center – the finest veterans care provider in the country," he said.
"Together, this is quite a team, led by one of the world's top cancer researchers, Dr. C. Kent Osborne of Baylor," said Traber. "Bringing together this incredible group of talent gives patients an amazing advantage."
As part of the designation, the Duncan Cancer Center will receive up to $3 million over the next three years from the NCI p30 grant. The NCI is the primary source of cancer research funding.
The designation highlights the strength of BCM's collaboration with its affiliated hospitals, including Texas Children's Hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital, The Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. The Cancer Center's physicians have responsibilities for a broad spectrum of patient populations, including veterans, the underserved, children and adults.
"One of the missions of NCI-designated cancer centers is to reach out to the underrepresented and underserved," said Dr. C. Kent Osborne, director of the Duncan Cancer Center at BCM. "Our goal is to improve the care of and increase accrual of less fortunate patients in state-of-the art clinical trials."
NCI-designated cancer centers play a vital role in curing cancer. The Duncan Cancer Center designation will help to create more opportunities for improved patient care and increase translational research, which results in quicker bench-to-bedside treatments for patients.
A major strength of the Duncan Cancer Center is BCM's recognized programs in the basic sciences, particularly genetics and molecular and cellular biology.
"Having resources like the genome center allows us to do things that other institutions can't," said Osborne, who is also director of the Breast Center at BCM. "We focus a lot of our energy on studying the genetic makeup of cancer with the hope of offering each patient personalized treatment."
Faculty members represent 28 departments or centers from across the College. The Duncan Cancer Center is organized around eight major programs of excellence, including cell and gene therapy, cancer prevention and population sciences, molecular carcinogenesis, nuclear receptor biology, breast cancer, pediatric oncology, cancer biology and prostate cancer. Texas Children's Cancer Center is one of the leading children's cancer centers in the world.
"We're all shooting for the same goal. We're all shooting for cure of our particular patient populations," said Dr. David Poplack, deputy director of the Duncan Cancer Center and director of Texas Children's Cancer Center. "The NCI designation means that we are a center that has coordinated its effort, in this case as a consortium across a number of institutions, to make sure we are most efficient and expeditious in achieving that goal."
The designation will help to provide a structure for integrated multidisciplinary patient care, research and education to reduce cancer mortality and incidence.
BCM has been developing its cancer center since 1997, building programs in research and patient care. In early 2006, Dan L. Duncan, businessman and philanthropist, contributed $100 million to the center.
Duncan, a member of the BCM Board of Trustees, said, "This designation is an important recognition of the outstanding cancer program that has been put together at Baylor College of Medicine. We believe this program will make a significant contribution to the eventual prevention and successful cure of cancer, in all of its forms."
Cancer has become one of the major areas of focus at BCM. More than 100,000 square feet is currently dedicated to cancer research, and additional space has been set aside in the new Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research, set to open later this year. Cancer will be one of the major patient care services at the new Baylor Clinic and Hospital, which will open in 2010.
The college receives about $100 million per year in cancer-related research funding with about $37.8 million from the National Cancer Institute.
Kimberlee Barbour
713-798-4710
kbarbour@bcm.edu