Background

University Hospitals Cancer Hospital, completion expected by 2010.

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, on the shore of Lake Erie, was established with NCI funding 19 years ago as a collaboration between the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University. It was designated by NCI as a Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1997, and in 2004, the partnership was expanded to include the Cleveland Clinic. Together, they serve the cancer research and clinical needs of an urban manufacturing and rural agricultural region containing 3.8 million people in northern Ohio, where the mortality rate from cancer is higher than average.

Research Activities
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 300 collaborating scientists and physicians who have successfully competed for more than $160 million in annual funding. These investigators are organized into 9 scientific programs and have access to 17 scientific core facilities and related support services. Clinical research at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center comprises 11 Clinical Trials Disease Teams that develop and prioritize clinical trials between the partner institutions, and a single Protocol Review and Monitoring System, Data Safety and Monitoring Plan, and Institutional Review Board. These components serve to integrate cancer research, cancer therapeutics, and prevention services at the partner institutions and throughout the region. More than 300 clinical trials are offered through the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing patients with the latest treatments. The Center is also heavily involved in nonembryonic stem cell research and was instrumental in the development of umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat leukemia in adults.

Patient Care Specialties
In 2005-2006, more than 7,300 new cancer patients were treated at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center clinical facilities - Ireland Cancer Center, and Taussig Cancer Center; about 17 percent of these patients participated in therapeutic clinical trials sponsored by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, compared with an average national participation rate of 3 to 4 percent. Patients seeking treatment have access to a range of services, from basic research information to advanced treatments and psychosocial and supportive care. Professionals from the fields of medicine, surgery, pediatrics, pathology, and radiology work with specialized oncology nurses, psychiatrists, dieticians, social workers, and music and art therapists to create individualized patient care plans.

Other Notable Programs
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center hosts several major NCI-sponsored research and outreach programs. It operates an NCI-supported Cancer Information Service serving the northern half of Ohio as part of the CIS Midwest regional consortium and has an active outreach program for clinical practice-based prevention and screening initiatives, educational programs, minority recruitment, and facilitation of patient referrals. It is also a member of NCI's Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid initiative and is pursuing electronic databases for clinical trials, tissue repositories, and related bioinformatics. In 2005, it was among four institutions selected by NCI to participate in the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer initiative to better understand the link between physical activity, obesity, and cancer. In addition, University Hospitals Case Medical Center has embarked upon a $1.2 billion strategic plan, called Vision 2010, that includes a number of new facilities, among them a free-standing cancer hospital - the first ever for the region - that will triple the currently available patient space and consolidate the cancer services under one roof. The new cancer hospital is scheduled for completion in 2010.