I am pleased to begin a new series from City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. With our National Medical Center ranking among the top 5 for cancer by U.S. News & World Report, we are making a profound and lifesaving difference.
For those new to our phenomenal story, over the past several years, we have grown into an integrated national model that has one of the largest geographic footprints in the country, delivering lifesaving treatments based on the leading biomedical research to five major U.S. markets.
This is good news for many Americans and just one of the ways that we are advancing the latest cancer research and treatments. We are at the forefront of innovations in surgical oncology, radiation oncology, cell therapy and cancer immunotherapy—pursuing advances in treatments at the speed of life, as we say at City of Hope. These attributes are in addition to a host of others:
- As an independent research institution, we engage in more than 730 clinical trials, and our on-site good manufacturing practice facilities allow for rapid translation of novel therapeutic agents.
- The National Cancer Institute rates our academic cancer center as “exceptional,” placing us among the top echelon of the nation’s 57 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. Additionally, we are ranked high performing for all six cancer procedures and conditions measured by U.S. News & World Report: lung, colon, prostate, gynecology, GI/gastroenterology and leukemia/lymphoma/melanoma.
- City of Hope has one of the country’s largest and most successful bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and cellular therapy programs, performing nearly 20,000 BMTs and treating more than 1,600 patients with cell therapy, including CAR T. Our locations across the country now offer these treatments for all hematologic malignancies.
- We are more than 2,000 clinical and research experts collaborating with scientists and institutions around the world and welcoming more to our bench as we develop exciting innovations in cancer prevention, early detection and treatment.
Throughout this year, we will present more of our latest discoveries, initiatives and perspectives. This includes groundbreaking recent work, such as microbiome research that may lead to improved cancer survival, remote robotic surgical advances making complex procedures possible nationwide, applying insights from diabetes research to cancer treatment, leveraging AI and liquid biopsies to detect cancer at its earliest stages, and expanding access to top-tier cancer care for all individuals, regardless of geography.
This is just the beginning of what will unfold and the updates that we will share as one of the nation’s truly great institutions.
I invite you to join my distinguished colleagues and me each week as we explore, uncover and discuss these significant advancements together.
