Stanford Cancer Institute earns highest cancer center designation

The Stanford Cancer Institute has been designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health and the world’s leading cancer research organization.

The designation is recognition of the institute’s robust and integrated programs encompassing laboratory research, clinical care and community outreach and education.

The institute’s mission is to support and coordinate the wide range of cancer-related activities — in basic, translational, clinical and population-based science — occurring at Stanford University, Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, along with its partner institution, the Cancer Prevention Institute of California. Its nearly 400 members include scientists and physicians from a wide range of disciplines, all collaborating to translate research advances into improved cancer treatments.

Building from a base of exceptional discovery research and patient care, the institute achieved its initial NCI “cancer center” designation in 2007, and in less than eight years has expanded its reach and its programs to earn the coveted “comprehensive” status.

Our faculty and staff work together every day to improve the understanding and treatment of cancer, and to reduce its burden on patients and families.

“I want to recognize Dr. Beverly Mitchell, who has worked tirelessly since becoming the SCI director in 2008 to achieve this prestigious honor for Stanford Medicine,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “The combined effort of the institute’s multidisciplinary membership exemplifies how we are applying precision health to complex diseases and improving patient outcomes.”

The leadership and dedication of faculty from a variety of scientific disciplines, combined with extraordinary institutional and community support, has positioned the institute for continued growth and achievement in the future, according to the NCI officials who visited Stanford and reviewed its application for “comprehensive” status. The NCI’s site review summary noted that the institute “is clearly poised to make significant contributions to cancer research in the next five years.”

“This achievement is a testament to the talent and dedication of our members,” said Beverly Mitchell, MD, director of the Stanford Cancer Institute and a professor of medicine. “Our faculty and staff work together every day to improve the understanding and treatment of cancer, and to reduce its burden on patients and families.”

In partnership with Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health, the institute has undertaken a broad effort to transform the cancer patient experience by blending Stanford science with new models of patient care that incorporate concern for the psychological welfare of patients and families. This initiative is aimed at providing exceptional cancer care and improving the lives of patients.