Background
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center was established in 1993 as the umbrella organization over cancer-related research, clinical care, and education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Under the leadership of its founding director, Dr. Harold L. Moses, the center was awarded a Cancer Center Support Grant in 1995 and has remained continuously funded since then. In 2001, Vanderbilt-Ingram was designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, making it the only such center in Tennessee. In 2005, Dr. Moses was succeeded by Dr. Raymond N. DuBois as director. As director emeritus, Dr. Moses continues as a senior scientist and advisor.

Patient Care
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center emphasizes individualized cancer care developed and delivered through a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team approach, with particular strengths in lung, gastrointestinal, breast, and head and neck cancers, as well as melanoma and sarcoma. Pediatric cancer care is delivered in the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, listed among the top 10 children's hospitals in the country by Child magazine. Vanderbilt-Ingram offers more than 200 clinical trials for adults and children at its main campus and through 15 members of its affiliate network in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia.

Research
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research enterprise emphasizes translational research and builds on a strong legacy of basic science in growth factors and signal transduction. It includes seven formal research programs covering the areas of signal transduction and cell proliferation, host-tumor interaction, gastrointestinal cancer, breast cancer, genomics and proteomics, cancer prevention and control, and experimental therapeutics. Since its inception, competitive NCI grant funding has grown to more than $50 million per year; total annual research funding, including private sources, tops $130 million. Vanderbilt-Ingram is home to three NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in breast, gastrointestinal, and lung cancers; a Digestive Disease Center; and a Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium grant.

Other Notable Programs
Through the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, Vanderbilt-Ingram and its neighbor, Meharry Medical College, are working together to understand and address health disparities in cancer through collaborative research, education, and clinical care initiatives. This work includes the Southern Community Cohort Study, enrolling more than 100,000 people (two-thirds of them African American) in clinical trials with the goal of eliminating the racial and regional gaps in cancer incidence and mortality.

Vanderbilt-Ingram has developed a strong program in patient and community education, reaching thousands of community members with prevention and awareness information each year. This effort includes initiatives to assist patients and caregivers in making informed decisions about their care, such as a Patient Resource Center and the Cancer Information Program, a toll-free service staffed by oncology nurses to assist patients, families, and referring physicians with cancer information and to facilitate second opinions and clinical trials accrual.