The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center began as a collaboration between the Ireland Cancer Center (University Hospitals Case Medical Center) and Case Western Reserve University in 1987, and was established with National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding. In 1997, it was designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), one of only 41 such entities in the United States.
A CCC designation is awarded to only those institutions offering advanced cancer research and treatment services. These cancer services are a direct result of the National Cancer Act of 1971, directed at addressing the need for comprehensive cancer services and up-to-date research initiatives. These National Cancer Institute-designated facilities undergo comprehensive reviews to ensure continued compliance with federally established standards for cancer patient care and research.
In 2004, the partnership expanded to include the Cleveland Clinic. Together, these entities, located on the shores of Lake Erie in northern Ohio, serve the cancer research and clinical needs of an urban manufacturing and rural agricultural region with a population approaching 4 million whose mortality rate from cancer is higher than the national average
The Ireland Cancer Center provides:
- Full spectrum, state-of-the-art cancer treatments and services;
- Integrated research activities from basic to clinical, including prevention and control research;
- Public information services on the prevention and treatment of cancer;
- Education and training for health care professionals, including researchers; and
- Outreach activities serving the communities within the region.
With more than 300 scientists, researchers and physicians collaborating to discover new modalities and new cancer treatments, the Center’s regimen comprises 11 Clinical Trials Disease Teams developing and establishing precedence for more than 300 clinical trials conducted in cooperation with partner institutions. Using more than $160 million in annual funding derived from the successful competition for grants, programs and awards, these nine scientific programs – with access to 17 scientific core facilities – are prioritized via a single Protocol Review and Monitoring System, a Data Safety and Monitoring Plan, and an Institutional Review Board.
These components assist in coordinating cancer research, cancer therapeutics, and prevention services at both partner institutions and throughout the region. The Center is also heavily involved in non-embryonic stem cell research and was one of the early participants who facilitated the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of adult-onset leukemia.
In 2005-2006, the Center and its partner institutions served more 7,300 new cancer patients, 17 percent of whom participated in therapeutic clinical trials. This compares favorably with a national average of four percent. In addition, professionals from the fields of medicine, surgery, pediatrics, pathology, and radiology cooperated with specialized oncology nurses, psychiatrists, dieticians, social workers, and music and art therapists to draft and implement individualized patient care plans.
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center hosts several major NCI-sponsored research and outreach programs, namely:
- An NCI-supported Cancer Information Service serving the northern half of Ohio
- An NCI-sponsored Biomedical Informatics Grid initiative
- An active outreach program for clinical practice-based prevention and screening initiatives, educational programs and minority recruitment
- An NCI-proposed electronic database for clinical trials, tissue repositories, and related bioinformatics
- A Transdisciplinary Research program on Energetics and Cancer (to discover the link between obesity and cancer)
In 2007, Case Medical Center engaged in a $1.2 billion strategic plan, called Vision 2010, to erect a number of new facilities, including a free-standing cancer hospital – the first ever for the region – which will triple the available space and amalgamate cancer services under one roof. This new cancer hospital is scheduled to open in 2010.
For more information about the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ireland Cancer Center, visit their website at: http://cancer.case.edu/, or call (216) 844-5432, or (800) 641-2422, or e-mail: cancer@case.edu
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ireland Cancer Center
11100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
Google map for Case Comprehensive cancer Center
