Cancer Treatment and Research at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Founded in 1973, the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania (ACCUP) is named for the $100 million endowment of Leonard and Madlyn Abramson and family. The ACCUP provides advanced forms of cancer education, treatment, and research services to the citizens of Pennsylvania, as well as to the worldwide cancer community at large, at its state-of-the-art teaching hospital in Philadelphia. The ACCUP treats all forms of adult and pediatric cancers using surgical, chemotherapy, and radiological therapies.

The ACCUP is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center' (CCC), and it furthers its cancer fighting mission through affiliations with: the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute; the Center for Cancer Pharmacology; the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics; the Penn Genomics Institute, and the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, as well as numerous, statewide departments and facilities under the aegis of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

A National Network of Cancer Education, Treatment, and Research Centers

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the chief cancer research organization under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and in the early 1960s, the NCI lobbied Congress for a national network of cancer centers. Each of the NCI proposed cancer centers would be allied with a major university, and in 1971, the National Cancer Act (NCA) was signed into law by President Nixon. The NCA provided for the establishment of the 63 National Cancer Centers that are now located in all regions of the United States, 41 of which have received the NCI CCC accreditation. A CCC ranking is only offered to those Cancer Centers, such as the ACCUP, that meet or exceed stringent NCI guidelines for the delivery of advanced cancer services.

Cancer Research at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

The ACCUP is one of the nation's leading cancer research centers, and it ranks fifth in NCI funding and fourth in American Cancer Society financial contributions. Over 400 basic, clinical, and translational researchers at the ACCUP now control over $145 million in research grants that fund the ACCUP's quest to better prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, with the ultimate goal being the discovery of a cure for the disease. As with all of the nation's Cancer Centers, research at the ACCUP is organized under a number of distinct branches of scientific investigation, and the Philadelphia institution concentrates on the following seven areas of cancer research:

Translational Research: Scientists in this program look to the findings of other studies in order to ‘translate' those discoveries into safe and effective therapies to prevent, treat, and eventually, cure cancer.
Breast Cancer: Researchers study the genetic associated origins and inherited risk factors of breast cancer in an effort to discover better techniques to prevent breast cancer, as well as to detect the disease in its earliest stage of development.
Melanoma: Bench (laboratory) and clinical (patient involved) researchers in this area of study are concerned with an inherited genetic predisposition to skin cancers. Additionally, environmental factors such as excessive exposure to the harmful effects of the sun are explored in order to better prevent melanomas while developing safe and effective therapies to treat the disease.
Hematologic Malignancies/Bone Marrow Transplants: The ACCUP research scientists in this program currently sponsor over 200 clinical trials designed to lead to better patient outcomes for individuals who suffer from the various blood-based cancers such as adult and pediatric types of leukemia. Bone marrow transplant therapies offer another concentration in this program, and the ACCUP hosts one of the nation's oldest and largest bone marrow and stem cell transplant programs.
Tobacco Research: Genetic researchers in this program are attempting to identify the gene that leads certain individuals to nicotine addiction.
Developmental Therapeutics: Pharmacological research that concentrates on the discovery and development of safe and effective cancer fighting drug therapies.
Immunobiology: Scientific investigation into the behaviors and functions of proteins in order to determine their relationship to cancer within the body's own immune system.

Patient Care at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

The ACCUP provides patients with critical cancer services at its core facility, the Abrams Cancer Center Hospital, as well as at its satellite and affiliated facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The ACCUP offers cancer patients of all ages over 300 faculty physicians, nurses, and other support staff at the Philadelphia medical facility that handles over 50,000 outpatient visits and over 7,400 inpatient admissions annually. The ACCUP oversees approximately 24,000 chemotherapy treatments and over 66,000 radiation therapies each year. The ACCUP provides cancer patients with a wide variety of treatment support personnel such as nutritionists and physical therapists that are often needed by individuals who are being treated for the disease. Additionally, due to the extensive research arm of the Cancer Center, a select group of patients are offered participation in a wide range of clinical trials at the Philadelphia hospital-these studies are designed to test the safety and effectiveness of novel cancer fighting therapies.

As an adjunct to the above cancer treatments offered at the ACCUP, the Cancer Center also provides patients and their families with additional services such as: disease specific (such as breast and prostate cancer) support groups; gender specific, men's and women's health and reproductive support groups and counseling services; psychosocial and psychological counseling; grief counseling; genetic and ethics counseling; specialized forms of pediatric counseling; inter and non-denominational pastoral/clerical counseling services; hospice affiliation information; cancer prevention (early screening) and education services; financial and insurance resource information; community resources information such as lodging, dining, transportation, and other logistical services information, home nursing and outpatient care programs information and more.

Contact the Abramson Cancer Center

The main toll-free phone number is (800) 789-PENN, and for a more complete phone listing directory or to learn more about the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, please visit their website at www.penncancer.org

The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
3535 Market Street, Suite 750
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309
Google map for Abramson Cancer Center

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