The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) offers cancer education, treatment, and research services at UCLA’s Westwood campus, as well as numerous other locations throughout Los Angeles County. Founded as a result of a collaboration between scientists and volunteers in the late 1960s, the objective of which was to establish a center for critical cancer services in Los Angeles, the UCLA medical complex achieved its Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1976.
Of the 63 cancer centers in the United States, only 41 are listed as CCC facilities. The UCLA Cancer Center is one of the largest CCC’s in the nation, and a staff of over 235 scientists and physicians oversee more that 20,000 patient visits each year. Additionally, the Jonsson CCC conducts hundreds of clinical trials annually, each of these trials offering the potential of effective cancer fighting drugs and therapies. Some of the more recent research breakthroughs that have occurred at the Jonsson Cancer Center are:
- Advances in breast cancer treatment: Researchers at the JCCC have made advances in discovering the genetic implications of breast cancer, and as a result, the experimental drug Herceptin was developed at the center. Herceptin is a drug that is specifically designed to address the genetic roots of breast cancer, and it is the first drug of its type to be approved for widespread use for the treatment of breast cancer.
- Advances in the treatment of adult leukemia: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a common form of leukemia that strikes adults, and researchers at the JCCC have developed two recently approved dugs, Gleevec and Sprycel, to aid in the treatment of CML.
- Advances in the treatment of lung cancer: JCCC researchers have developed two recently approved drugs, Tarceva and Avastin, for the improved treatment of lung cancer-Avastin shows promise in the treatment of colorectal and breast cancer as well.
A Variety of Cancer Services at the Jonsson CCC
The UCLA Cancer Center provides the community with a full spectrum of cancer related services. Over 40 separate scientific and medical disciplines are represented at the California medical complex, and the cancer center treats nearly all forms of cancer using medicinal, surgical, and radiation treatments. The JCCC offers its patients a variety of support services such as counseling, hospice affiliations, cancer education, and wellness information. The research and teaching facility also offers its patients access to a variety of ongoing clinical trials.
Community Outreach, Education, and Funding Programs
In an effort to better serve the community, both for cancer patients and those who are disease-free, the Jonsson Cancer Center has developed a number of education and community outreach programs through the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research (DCPCR). The DCPCR goal is to enhance communications between the JCCC and local governmental health departments and community-based programs that work to increase community awareness of cancer-related issues such as increased screenings that lead to early detection of the disease.
The DCPCR initiative seeks to increase the delivery of cancer-related services to the economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority populations in the Los Angeles area, as well as to encourage the participation of these individuals in a variety of cancer outreach programs such as:
Community Research in Cancer (CORICA): This five year old program is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the NCI. The CORICA Network strives to increase connectivity between local universities and the community at large when it comes to cancer education, prevention, treatment, and research programs in Los Angeles and other neighboring communities. The CORICA Network, over time, seeks to achieve racial, ethnic, and economic parity when it comes to the delivery of critical cancer-related services.
The Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART): In an affiliation with the JCCC, the AANCART program is the first NCI funded program to target the issue of cancer and its disparate impact on the Asian American community. Traditionally underserved by area cancer services, the Asian American population reflects this disparity in the delivery of critical cancer care by the statistically unequal burden imposed on Asian Americans by the disease.
Translational Oncology Research International (TORI): In an effort to reach beyond the Los Angeles areas, the JCCC partners with a wide variety of health care providers, drug companies, and research initiatives across the United States. The TORI program is designed to involve cancer patients outside the Los Angeles area in the many clinical trials offered at the UCLA medical complex.
The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation (JCCF) at UCLA: The JCCF is an ongoing initiative that seeks to achieve increased affiliations with local corporations, individuals, institutions, etc., in an effort to raise funds for continued cancer research at the UCLA Cancer Center.
Contact the Jonsson Comprehensive cancer Center
The main clinic phone number is (310) 825-5268, and for a complete departmental and Cancer Hotline phone directory, as well as to learn more about the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and their Los Angeles County satellite locations, please visit their website at www.cancer.UCLA.edu/
Administrative Office:
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
8-684 Factor Building
700 Tiverton Avenue
Box 951781
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1781
E-mail: jcccinfo@mednet.UCLA.edu
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
10833 Le Conte Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Google map to Jonsson Comprehensive cancer Center
Request an appointment: (800) 825-2631
