The University of Minnesota Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), and is staffed by more than 400 professionals ranging from researchers to dentists representing nine university colleges and schools and eight area hospitals and clinics.
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.
Through the Cancer Center and its research programs, members collaborate on investigations that improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and quality of life. The center also engages in community outreach and public education efforts addressing cancer.
The Cancer Center is an NCI-comprehensive matrix center with 8 research programs and 12 shared resource cores. Through these cores, members collaborate to improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment and quality of life. The Center also participates in community outreach programs and public education to address the causes and prevention of cancer.
The Center is part of the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center, which includes the U of M Medical School, Dental School, Schools of Public Health, and Nursing and Veterinary Medicine schools. Research partners include the Institute of Human Genetics, the Stem Cell Institute, the Center for Immunology, the Tobacco Use Research Center, and the Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Clinical research and service partners the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview Hospital, and the U of M Physicians group.
University of Minnesota Cancer Center research programs, focused on clinical, basic and population research, are aimed at:
- Breast Cancer
- Cancer Progression and Metastasis
- Immunology
- Transplant Biology and Therapy
- Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention
- Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer
- Translational Research
- Prevention and Etiology
Cancer Center members have received more than $70 million annually in national peer reviewed research grants, and this funding is concentrated on:
- tobacco research and lung carcinogenesis,
- murine models of oncogene discovery,
- experimental and clinical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation,
- risk factors in development of pediatric cancers and
- experimental and clinical studies of bone pain in cancer.
The primary focus of research continues to be tobacco use, and the U of M’s Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) continues to examine tobacco use harm-reduction approaches by bringing together internationally recognized investigators with expertise in tobacco and health whose collective expertise ranges from organic chemistry to behavioral sciences.
Initiated in 1999, the TTURC program is one of eight TTURC affiliates funded through the NCI and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The overall goal is to spur integrated research across disciplines like neuroscience, economics, epidemiology, genetics, behavioral sciences, pharmacology, and medicine to advance understanding of the mechanisms of tobacco use, nicotine addiction, and tobacco harm reduction.
Additional TTURC funding is obtained through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Partners with Tobacco Use Research Centers program. This program supplements communications that translate TTURC research and policy to policy makers, healthcare practices, and the public.
Contact the University of Minnesota Cancer Center (Masonic Cancer Center)
To learn more about the Center, visit their website at: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/, or call for information or an appointment. The toll-free number for residents of Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin is 1-888-CANCER MN
(1-888-226-2376). Twin Cities residents can call 612-624-2620.
Mailing Address:
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota
420 Delaware Street, S.E.
Minneapolis MN
Street Address:
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota
425 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Google map for Masonic Cancer Center
