In July, the Tisch Cancer Institute in New York became the 69th cancer center in the United States to earn NCI designation. Four other NCI-designated cancer centers attained comprehensive status: the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute; the University of Texas Southwestern's Simmons Cancer Center; Baylor College of Medicine's Duncan Cancer Center; and the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.

The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY, has been awarded NCI designation, joining an elite group of 68 other U.S. cancer centers with world-class research programs dedicated to developing more effective approaches for preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer.

Four other NCI-designated cancer centers—the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City; the University of Texas Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center in Dallas; the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX; and the University of New Mexico (UNM) Cancer Center in Albuquerque—garnered comprehensive status, the highest federal designation, which is held by just 45 cancer centers nationwide.

To be awarded NCI designation, institutions must successfully complete a highly competitive application process for 5-year core grants from the NCI's cancer centers program to fund research infrastructure, advance scientific investigation, foster collaborative programs, and develop shared resources. Standard core grants and NCI designation are awarded to institutions demonstrating superior organizational, scientific, and clinical strengths. The higher comprehensive level, meanwhile, demands additional depth and breadth in laboratory, clinical, and population-based research.

The Tisch Cancer Institute will receive $8.5 million, which will help them “continue building team science,” says director Steven Burakoff, MD.

This multidisciplinary approach drove the design of the Leon and Norma Hess Center for Science and Medicine, where research floors are located close to those for outpatient treatment. “Everyone is only one stairwell away from each other,” Burakoff notes. Tisch will also use their new funds to boost key research areas, he adds, including “moving forward more rapidly with individualized cancer vaccines.”

The HCI has been NCI-designated since 1987; its upgraded status recognizes expansion efforts that include doubling enrollment in clinical trials in the last 5 years, and doubling the size of the cancer hospital in 2011, says director Mary Beckerle, PhD. Their $8.2 million award comes as the HCI is doubling its research space, and will contribute considerably to vital infrastructure.

“Much of our research is focused on cancer genetics, and comprehensive status will accelerate our contributions to precision medicine,” Beckerle says.

The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (center right) was named an NCI-designated cancer in June.

The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (center right) was named an NCI-designated cancer in June.

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In Dallas, the Simmons Cancer Center attained comprehensive status only 5 years after becoming NCI-designated. Among new research efforts, their $8.1 million award will advance studies on hepatocellular carcinoma, a disease with much higher incidence among Texas's Latino population.

The $16 million award to the Duncan Cancer Center will broaden its collaboration with neighboring MD Anderson and other local institutions. Through shared resources, the center gains “accessibility to expensive laboratory equipment and expertise no one researcher could afford in their own lab,” says its director, Kent Osborne, MD.

Meanwhile, the UNM Cancer Center will use its $9.5 million award to support endeavors such as the New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance, a statewide clinical trials network; and Total Cancer Care/ORIEN, in which UNM partners with other NCI-designated cancer centers to make advanced genome sequencing available to more cancer patients.

Henry Ciolino, PhD, acting director of the NCI's Office of Cancer Centers, notes that “it's important to see the program continuing to grow, and to see that our existing designated cancer centers are pushing themselves to achieve even greater levels of scientific leadership and clinical research excellence.”

For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://CDnews.aacrjournals.org.