In a direct affiliation with 14 of the 18 colleges at Ohio State University (OSU), the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) treats patients for all forms of adult and pediatric cancer while carrying out extensive research on the disease at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (the James) located on the OSU campus in Columbus, Ohio. The OSUCCC opened its doors in July of 1990, and the Columbus institution provides advanced forms of cancer education, treatment, and research to the citizens of Ohio, as well as to individuals from across the nation and around the world.
The James serves cancer patients through its affiliations with: the adjacent Nationwide Children’s Hospital; the Genesis Cancer Unit, a dedicated cancer care facility within the Genesis-Good Samaritan Hospital in Zanesville, Ohio; the Ohio State University/Cincinnati Children’s Center Consortium at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; the Holzer Center for Cancer Care in Gallipolis, Ohio; a 12 bed oncology unit at the Community Hospital in East Springfield; the University Hospital East on the east side of Columbus, and outpatient breast cancer services at the JamesCare facility in Dublin, Ohio.
A National Network of Cancer Education, Treatment, and Research Centers
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established by the federal government in 1937 under the aegis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI was charged with the task of being the nation’s chief cancer research organization, and in the early 1960s, the NCI petitioned Congress for the establishment of a nationwide network of cancer centers with each individual institution to be allied with a leading university.
Due to the NCI efforts, the National Cancer Act (NCA) was passed by Congress and signed into law in 1971. Today, there are 63 National Cancer Centers located in all regions of the United States, out of which 41 have been granted the NCI designation ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center’ (CCC). A CCC ranking is only given to those Cancer Centers that comply with the NCI’s strict guidelines for the delivery of advanced cancer services, and it is a designation that is subject to ongoing evaluations and required periodic renewals at the discretion of the NCI.
Cancer Research at the James’ Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
All of the nation’s Cancer Centers carry out advanced forms of cancer research while offering certain patients at each institution the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of clinical trials. The James’ OSUCCC currently offers cancer patients over 50 novel cancer therapies, and a significant number of these experimental cancer treatments are offered nowhere else in the world. Basic research, in both bench (laboratory) and clinical (patient associated) forms, is conducted by over 270 scientists and is organized under seven interdisciplinary programs that are as follows:
- Cancer Control: These studies concentrate on the design and utilization of etiological and behavioral studies to decrease the incidence of cancer while lowering mortality rates from the disease. Increased cancer screening and behavior modification, such as smoking cessation, are the focus of this program.
- Experimental Therapeutics: Interdisciplinary scientific investigations here focus on cellular and molecular studies that help researchers better understand the mechanisms that effect cell growth and apoptosis (cell death) in order to develop therapeutic agents to capitalize on new discoveries in this area. Researchers seek to locate and identify cellular activities that give rise to cancer cell resistance to current therapies while simultaneously developing novel and experimental cancer treatments.
- Innate Immunity: Researchers concentrate here on fundamental T-cell biology. The “T” in T-cell stands for thymus, which is the gland that is chiefly responsible for the production of these white blood cells also known as lymphocytes. T-cells are an important component of the body’s natural immune system, and a better understanding of T-cell function will lead to further and enhanced developments in the discovery of pharmacological and other therapies to mimic the T-cell’s cancer fighting abilities.
- Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics: Researchers in this program seek to better understand the relationship between cancer and genes in order to reduce morbidity rates while improving the quality of life for individuals who suffer from a malignant disease. This is another interdisciplinary group of studies that examines cellular and molecular mechanisms in relation to the diagnosis, prognosis, observation, early detection, prevention, and treatment of cancer.
- Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention: Studies here are of a translational nature that focus on the development of chemotherapeutic and nutritional therapies to treat cancer.
- Pediatric Oncology: Studies that concentrate on the unique biological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that cause and ameliorate cancer in children.
- Viral Oncology: Collaborative, interdisciplinary studies that focus on virus-related cancers such as those that occur in patients infected with the AIDS virus, as well as other viral-oriented malignancies.
Patient Care at the James’ Ohio University Comprehensive Cancer Center
In 2007, U.S. News and World Report listed the James’ OSUCCC as the best cancer treatment hospital in Ohio while ranking it 15th in the United States. The OSUCCC is the only medical institution of its kind in Ohio, and it provides adult cancer patients with a 172 bed hospital and research facility that occupies 13 floors and hosts a 24 bed blood and marrow transplant unit. In addition to a clinical laboratory, the James houses 26 basic research laboratories, six surgical suites, and 21 privates suites dedicated exclusively to the care of chemotherapy patients. Throughout its network of facilities, the OSUCCC oversees approximately 6,000 admissions and over 130,000 outpatient visits annually.
The OSUCCC treats many of its pediatric cancer patients at the OSU campus-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which is widely recognized as one of the leading pediatric cancer hospitals in the country. Additionally, the OSUCCC provides cancer patients with a variety of support services such as: cancer specific support groups; cancer patient appearance programs for those who suffer from hair loss or other cosmetic impairments; a full spectrum of counseling, mental health, and pastoral services; hospice affiliations; community outreach cancer education and prevention services; nutrition education; community resource information, rehabilitation services and more.
Contact the James’ Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
The main phone number is (800) 293-5066, and for a more complete phone listing directory or to learn more about the James’ Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, please visit their website at cancer.osu.edu
The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
300 West 10th Avenue
Suite 519
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Email cancerinfo@jamesline.com
Google map for James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
