PHILADELPHIA (August 22, 2016) — Fox Chase Cancer Center will continue its 40-plus year designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center after receiving reviews of excellent to outstanding from the National Cancer Institute.
One of the original four institutions classified by the NCI in 1974, Fox Chase continues its position in a prestigious group of 69 centers nationwide to compete successfully for a Cancer Center Support Grant. A smaller group of 47 of these institutions offer groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art education, as well as cancer prevention and control programs. These institutions qualify as comprehensive. Fox Chase is one of two in the Philadelphia region.
“To be designated an NCI comprehensive cancer center is the gold standard in cancer care and research, and reflects tremendous work by the entire team,” said Richard I. Fisher, MD, president and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center. “Fox Chase has a proud history and an exciting future, and we look forward to offering our patients the best in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in the coming years.”
The NCI awards a range of designations for research institutions as well as clinical treatment centers. Comprehensive Cancer Centers—the highest classification—meet specific standards for breadth and depth in research and serve as models for moving research discoveries, treatments and information from the academic setting to patients and the general public.
“Fox Chase Cancer Center’s position in the Temple University Health System raises us to a level of excellence that benefits every patient in Philadelphia,” said Larry Kaiser, MD, FACS, president and CEO of the Temple University Health System, dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and senior executive vice president for health affairs at Temple University. “Congratulations on this prestigious designation go to the entire leadership team, faculty and staff. We can look forward to an exciting future.”
In rating the center programs as excellent to outstanding, government reviewers commented on the long history of Fox Chase, saying it “continues to be a superb environment for clinical, basic and translational research.”
Reviewers continued, “Fox Chase Cancer Center is composed of strong researchers, producing areas of high-impact cancer research that has made important contributions to the field of cancer.”
The renewal of the Center’s status as a Comprehensive Cancer Center comes with a financial “core grant” over the next five years.