Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Support Grant Renewed By NCI, Comprehensive Status Extended

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 07 Jul 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (MCCC) received an additional five years of National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding and re-designation as a comprehensive cancer center, according to Robert Diasio, M.D., the center's director. Mayo Clinic has the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center conducting research at three distinct locations across the United States.

The NCI Cancer Center Support Grant award to MCCC totals more than $28 million over five years for infrastructure and administrative support for cancer center researchers across Mayo's three sites in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona.

"The NCI renewal of Mayo's Cancer Center Support Grant ensures the continuity of research programs that contribute to improved medical options for cancer patients," Dr. Diasio says. "This NCI grant is key in enabling Mayo Clinic to continue delivering outstanding care for its cancer patients."

The MCCC is headquartered in Rochester, Minn., with research campuses in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Jacksonville, Fla. With NCI approval in 2003, MCCC incorporated its cancer research activity at its Minnesota, Florida and Arizona sites into a single, integrated institution.

"The NCI recognized the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center for excellence in basic and clinical research, and for our contributions to cancer prevention, control and population sciences," Dr. Diasio says. "This award enables Mayo cancer researchers on all three of our campuses to build upon knowledge that leads to changes in medical practice which means improved treatment opportunities for our patients."

Within its scope as a NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, the MCCC designs and develops translational clinical studies that arise from collaborations between scientists and physicians.

The 450 scientists and physicians of the MCCC faculty across all three sites are organized into programs that focus on 12 key cancer research themes. They include Women's Cancers, Neuro-Oncology, Hematologic (bloodborne) Malignancies, Gene and Virus Therapy, Developmental Therapeutics, Genetic Epidemiology and Risk Assessment, Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gastrointestinal Cancers, Prostate Cancer, Cell Biology, Cancer Imaging, and Cancer Prevention and Control.

Source:
Karl Oestreich
Mayo Clinic