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Source: Abby Sinnott
415-476-2557
17 December 1998
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO CANCER CENTER
Scientists and clinicians are embarking on an unprecedented era of cancer research and patient care around the world. The UC San Francisco Cancer Center--the only one in Northern California that acts as a center "without walls" by bringing together scientists and clinicians from many sites to collaborate on virtually every aspect of cancer--plans to be the leader in this new era.
Utilizing the resources of one of the finest health science universities in the world, the UCSF Cancer Center's mission is the discovery and evolution of new ideas and information about cancer, from research to the clinical implementation phases of cancer control. These advances could lead to earlier detection, improved drug therapies and, ultimately, increased survival rates and improved patient quality of life.
UCSF is currently seeking designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to become the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Northern California. From Portland, OR, to Los Angeles, Calif., a distance of nearly 1,000 miles, UCSF is the only health care facility that encompasses a matrix of cancer lab and clinical research, and clinical care services for cancer patients. In 1997, it ranked sixth among all US institutions in research support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)--the nation’s cancer research agency and a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Cancer Center’s nearly 260 members--research investigators and clinicians who hold faculty appointments at UCSF--comprise a remarkable assemblage of scientific and clinical expertise. Approximately one in six of all UCSF faculty belongs to the Cancer Center. Members span 39 academic departments within the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing, in addition to other organized research units.
UCSF Cancer Center's headquarters are located at the UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center, part of UCSF Stanford Health Care, where there is a modern cancer research building that focuses on translational research. In addition, a new clinical outpatient facility--the only one devoted exclusively to cancer care in the Bay Area--broke ground in July at UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center. Included in this new 65,000 square foot building will be clinical services in radiation oncology; breast care, including diagnostic mammography; infusion; melanoma; thoracic oncology; gynecological oncology; and head and neck cancer.
The synergy and collaboration of the new clinical building and research facility is a hallmark of UCSF's cancer programs. While basic scientists explore cancer's most fundamental causes, clinical researchers are exploring ways this knowledge can be applied, providing patients with access to the latest experimental protocols.
Patients benefit dramatically from rapid access to innovative clinical research. The number of newly diagnosed cancer patients seen at UCSF’s four medical centers is approximately 3,200 per year. More important, since UCSF has expanded its clinic cancer operations at Mount Zion, the number of patient visits has increased steadily from 17,000 in 1995 to 31,000 in the past year. This means that more patients can be invited to participate in clinical trials, and the number of UCSF research protocols has increased proportionately. In 1997, 77 new clinical trials were opened, and 735 patients were enrolled in studies overall.
In addition, a new and expanded Ida and Joseph Friend Resource Center that recently opened on the first floor of the existing clinical cancer building at UCSF/Mount Zion will help to establish a "one stop shop" for patients. Included in this complex is a boutique, café, healing garden and resource center all designed exclusively for patients and their families and friends. The generous contributions of Joseph Friend, a local business owner, helped to establish the resource center that he dedicated to his wife, Ida, who died of ovarian cancer two years ago. The Friend to Friend boutique, the only one of its kind in the Bay Area, sells merchandise designed exclusively for people who are battling cancer. For instance, patients can find a line of special cosmetics, wigs, hats, scarves and prostheses and bathing suits for women who have had a mastectomy. Private fitting rooms are available where customers can receive make-up consultations and help selecting a prosthesis. Although some major department stores sell these items, Friend to Friend offers customers privacy, comfort and understanding that isn’t always available at other retail outlets.
Ida's Cafe serves low-fat, healthy "comfort" food. The boutique and the cafe connect to a Healing Garden and Health Resource Center and Library where patients have access to computers and information about treatment options, complementary medicine, nutrition and a variety of related issues. The library also has a special play corner for patients’ children.
UCSF has been a progressive force in cancer science for the past 50 years. In the mid-1970's, J. Michael Bishop, MD, now Chancellor of UC San Francisco and chairman of the National Cancer Advisory Board, and Harold Varmus, MD, UCSF professor of microbiology and biochemistry and biophysics and currently the director of the National Institutes of Health, discovered cancer-causing genes called oncogenes. Their Nobel Prize-winning work opened new doors for exploring the genetic mistakes that cause cancer and formed the basis for some of the most important cancer research happening today.
The UCSF Cancer Center is unique from other facilities in that clinical investigators, lab scientists, providers of patient care, and epidemiologists whose work focuses on specific cancers and cancer types, collaborate to arrive at the best understanding of and treatment for each patient’s individual case. Cancer research and care at UCSF includes four areas of endeavor:
• Basic Scientific Research: The work of laboratory scientists focuses on understanding normal cellular processes and replication, working to discover underlying molecular and genetic causes of cancer when these processes go awry. UCSF Cancer Center lab researchers are committed to advancing basic scientific insights beyond model systems and applying them to clinical oncology and cancer prevention and control.
• Clinical Research: Clinical scientists explore how advances in our understanding of fundamental biological events can be transformed into clinical trials and treatments. New and experimental forms of cancer treatment, as well as innovations in cancer diagnosis and prognosis, undergo rigorous evaluation for safety and efficacy. The knowledge gained in clinical research trials translates directly into improved patient outcomes and hopes for the future.
• Patient Care: As part of UCSF Stanford Health Care, the UCSF Cancer Center provides superlative cancer patient care at UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center and Moffit and Long Hospitals. UCSF physicians also provide staffing for two UCSF-affiliated institutions, San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
• Epidemiology, Prevention and Control: Programs in cancer epidemiology, and prevention and control, concentrate on the behavioral, environmental, and genetic factors that affect the risk of developing certain cancers. Researchers also explore the effectiveness of prevention strategies in the community. ###
