The Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute, also known as Karmanos, is designated by the National Cancer Institute as among the very best cancer centers in the United States. According to the 2007 cancer Treatment Preference Profile Survey, conducted by the National Research Corporation and sent annually to 200,000 homes – including 3,440 in greater Michigan – Karmanos is the preferred hospital for cancer care in southeast Michigan.
Karmanos is ranked as one of 41 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive cancer Centers (CCC) in the United States. Caring for more than 6,000 new patients a year on a budget of $216 million, Karmanos conducts more than 700 cancer-specific scientific investigation programs and clinical trials through the commitment of it 1,000 staff members, including nearly 300 faculty. This research is made possible thanks to the more than $20 million in research funding, $18 million in peer-reviewed funding, and $9.2 million in non-peer reviewed funding provided by the NCI. Karmanos is also funded by the American cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and private trusts and foundations, as well as private donors.
A CCC designation is award 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 (NCI) designated facilities undergo comprehensive reviews to ensure continued compliance with federally established standards for cancer patient care and research.
Karmanos operates one of only two Phase I Clinical Trials Programs in Michigan, and is one of only 16 research institutes in the country to participate in the NCI‘s cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP), a program which makes possible an extensive national program of cancer research which sponsors clinical trials to evaluate new anti-cancer agents.
The Karmanos research program, based on laboratory, clinical and population-based research, includes basic laboratory, epidemiological, and translational research, which connects laboratory researchers to practicing physicians and investigators in neighboring medical institutions. The five research programs within these three venues focus on:
- breast cancer
- developmental therapeutics
- molecular biology and genetics
- population studies and prevention
- proteases and cancer.
The population studies program focuses on the industrial and racial diversity of metropolitan Detroit, and the population-based Metropolitan Detroit cancer Surveillance System – a cancer reporting system that provides information about the occurrence of new cancers and changing cancer patterns in Detroit’s tri-county population – has been operant since 1969. Karmanos is also a founding participant in the NCI‘s U.S. cancer reporting system, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. Through SEER, Karmanos provides nearly half of the national data on cancer in the African American population, and covers the largest industrial complex nationwide.
The Breast cancer Program at the Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute is an integrative and comprehensive program spanning basic and translational research, and focuses on:
1. Elucidating the genomic and proteomic changes involved in breast tissue metastasis;
2. Unveiling the molecular pathway to specific cellular processes;
3. Identifying the subsets of oncogenes activated in distinct subsets of breast cancer;
4. Analyzing EGFR and HER2 oncogene activation;
5. Analyzing aggressive breast cancers to allow custom therapy for specific cancers;
6. Developing novel immunological controls;
7. Defining further the genetic epidemiology of breast cancer in African Americans;
8. Developing high-throughput analyses of serum antibodies for early cancer detection.
Karmanos, which averages 500 new patients a month, conducts clinical trials in the areas of new treatments (drugs and therapies), prevention via new approaches (medicines, vitamins, minerals), screening and diagnostic trials (for early detection), and Quality of Life trials (also called Supportive Care trials), which explore methods for improving the comfort and quality of life. The Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute provides the most advanced cancer care in:
1. Prevention, Screening & Detection
2. Second Opinions & Multidisciplinary Teams
3. Treatment
4. Complementary & Supportive Care
Contact the Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute
To learn more about the Institute, visit their website at: http://www.KARMANOS.org/, or to learn more call (800) KARMANOS (1-800-527-6266).
Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute
4100 John R
Detroit, Michigan 48201
Google map for KARMANOS Cancer Institute
