Established in 1975, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) is located on the 14 acre Robert W. Day Campus in Seattle, Washington. The FHCRC is in a direct affiliation with its Seattle clinical and research partners, the University of Washington (UW), Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center (CHRMC), the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), and University of Washington Medicine (UWM). UWM is the parent organization that governs a number of other Seattle area medical centers, as well as the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM). These institutions and alliances combine to create the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium (FH/UWCC), which is one of the nation’s 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers that are located throughout the United States.
The FHCRC provides advanced forms of cancer prevention, education, treatment, and research services to Seattle residents, as well as to individuals throughout the Northwest region of the nation and the worldwide cancer community at large. The FHCRC, due to its alliances with many of the country’s leading cancer treatment and research partners, combines to form a nationally recognized center for the delivery of critical cancer fighting services. The UWSM is currently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top medical schools, and in 2007, the UWM faculty received $579.7 million in National Institutes of Health research grants and awards.
A National Network of Cancer Education, Treatment, and Research Centers
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established by the federal government in 1937, and it was charged with the responsibility of being the country’s chief cancer research agency. In the early 1960s, the NCI began to recognize the need for a nationwide network of Cancer Centers, each one of which would be in a direct affiliation with one of the nation’s top universities. The NCI eventually delivered its plan to Congress, and in August of 1971, President Nixon signed the NCI sponsored National Cancer Act (NCA) into law.
The NCA laid the foundation for the 63 Cancer Centers that are now located in all regions of the country, 41 of which have received the NCI accreditation of ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center’ (CCC). The CCC designation that has been awarded to the FHCRC’s Seattle Consortium carries an assurance that the Cancer Center provides state-of-the-art cancer services in strict accordance with NCI guidelines and performance criteria.
Cancer Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Staffed by over 2,300 faculty scientists and support personnel, the FHCRC is a nationally recognized center for cancer research. The FHCRC is home to three Nobel Prize Winners and the institution has made numerous, significant scientific discoveries that have furthered the fight against cancer. Additionally, in alliance with its many cancer treatment partners, the Seattle institution conducts a wide variety of clinical trials-including human trials-the participation in which is offered to a select group of patients within the population of the FHCRC’s hospital and clinic partners. Today, research at the Washington center is organized under eight separate divisions that are briefly described below:
- Early Detection: One of two NCI sponsored research programs in the nation focused on the discovery of biological markers that aid in the earliest possible detection of malignant disease. These biomarkers will also aid oncologists in their treatment of cancer patients by guiding physicians towards the best possible therapies for each individual patient and type of the disease.
- Immunotherapy: Scientific investigators here focus on immune system functions and cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms that will lead to the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents and other therapies to combat cancer.
- International Research: Researchers seek new ways to deliver critical cancer services to those economically disadvantaged and underserved populations that bear an unfair burden of cancer and blood diseases.
- Tumor Research: Translational research that seeks to ‘translate’ new findings on solid tumors into safe and effective therapies. Scientists look towards early detection and increased knowledge about the formation and growth of solid tumors to prevent and better manage the disease.
- Fundamental Research: A field of investigative study with a concentration in the comparison of healthy cells to cancer cells to better understand the biological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that differentiate the two and lead to malignant disease.
- Childhood Cancers: Scientists study the special circumstances of pediatric cancers with the goal of developing novel therapies specifically tailored for cancer’s youngest victims.
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Research: Bench (laboratory) and clinical (patient involved) researchers focus on the development of chemotherapeutic, stem-cell, transplant, and other therapies to improve on current techniques to prevent, diagnose, and treat blood diseases.
- Prevention Research: Interdisciplinary studies designed to better understand the incidence of cancer in specific populations, such as smokers or those who have been exposed to environmental dangers such as asbestos. Scientists examine behaviors, nutrition, and a host of other factors in a quest to develop novel ways of preventing cancer.
Patient Care at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Through its numerous affiliated health care centers on the 24 acre main hospital campus, as well as other satellite locations in the Seattle area and beyond, the FHCRC treats all forms of adult and pediatric cancer using surgical, chemotherapeutic, and radiological treatments. Pediatric patients are generally seen at the Children’s Hospital, which was ranked eighth in the nation for pediatric care by U.S. News and World Report in 2008. Most adults receive cancer care at the 250 bed UWM Hospital that provides patients with state-of-the-art cancer care techniques and therapies. The FHCRC provides all patients and their families with a wide variety of cancer related services such as a full spectrum of counseling programs, disease specific support groups, and community-based cancer resource information services.
Contact the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The main phone number is (206) 667-5000, and for a more complete phone listing directory or to learn more about the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, please visit their website at www.fhcrc.org/
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
Email externalrel@fhcrc.org
Google map for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
