U.Va. Cancer Center earns highest level in National Cancer Institute designations

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health awarded the University of Virginia Cancer Center a Comprehensive Cancer Center designation that will be effective Feb. 1, 2022, making it the 52nd program in the nation to currently hold the designation and the only one in Virginia.

“This achievement is exemplary of the excellence that UVA Health provides across all disciplines and of our recognition as one of the nation’s top academic health systems,” Dr. K. Craig Kent, executive vice president for health affairs at U.Va. and CEO of UVA Health, said in a statement. “I want to congratulate our UVA Cancer Center team for this remarkable achievement and for their determination in seeking this recognition.”

U.Va. Cancer Center has been an NCI-designated Cancer Center for 34 years. These centers are recognized for their scientific leadership, resources and the depth and breadth of their research in basic, clinical and/or prevention, cancer control and population science, according to the NCI website.

To receive the Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, the center had to complete a 1,300-page application and complete a site visit from 14 scientists and physicians. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are also recognized for their leadership and resources, plus a demonstration of an added depth and breadth of research and transdisciplinary research.

U.Va. Cancer Center has 162 members from 25 departments spread across four U.Va. schools: medicine, nursing, engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences. The center serves 3.2 million residents and its patient-care volume has grown by more than 50% since 2014, according to a news release.

U.Va. funding for cancer research has increased 45% over the past four years, totaling more than $30 million in 2020, according to the release. Participation in the cancer center’s clinical research increased by almost 500%.

NCI is the federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. It has about 3,500 employees. The NCI Cancer Centers Program was created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971.