Cancer Center joins an elite group of 70 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers nationwide.
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers represent only the top 2 percent of cancer centers in the United States. The Stephenson Cancer Center is the only NCI-Designated Cancer Center in Oklahoma. With more than 100 investigators working in the basic, clinical and population sciences, the Stephenson Cancer Center is Oklahoma’s leading cancer research organization. Nearly 90 percent of NCI-sponsored research funding that comes to Oklahoma is awarded to Stephenson investigators.
number one in the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) across the country.
In Oklahoma, one in two men and one in three women will develop cancer during their lifetime.
American Indian populations have significantly higher cancer incidence and mortality rates than the national average.
NCI designation allows the Stephenson Cancer Center to communicate and collaborate on new advances in cancer care with other NCI-Designated Cancer Centers across the nation. Locally, the Stephenson Cancer Center will be able to increase community engagement, including volunteers, patient advisory groups, and education and intervention programs.
As the major referral center for cancer within the state, this designation status also strengthens OU Medicine’s overall mission of leading health care in Oklahoma.
Bringing NCI designation to Oklahoma has been a goal since 2001 when the Oklahoma State Legislature approved House Bill 1072 with bipartisan support, calling upon the university to create a comprehensive cancer center to provide leadership in cancer treatment, research and outreach, as well as to achieve national recognition as an NCI-Designated Cancer Center. Over the past decade more than $400 million has been committed to support the development of the Stephenson Cancer Center, making it the largest public-private biomedical partnership in state history.
Important stakeholders supporting the cancer center and its quest for NCI designation include the Oklahoma Legislature, the University Hospitals and Trust Authority, OU Medicine, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, the state’s philanthropic community, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, and the citizens of Oklahoma.
Special recognition goes to the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), an endowment created by voters in 2000 to improve the health of Oklahomans. TSET has committed more than $58 million to support cancer research at the Stephenson Cancer Center and more than $24 million to support tobacco research at the center’s Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC).
Since 2010, the Stephenson Cancer Center has recruited more than 50 researchers to Oklahoma institutions, including the OU Health Sciences Center and OU Norman campuses, as well as the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. These researchers have brought $26.6 million in out-of- state research grants and have attained an additional $93.4 million in total research funding since arriving in Oklahoma.
“In addition to research and treatment, this designation strengthens the educational mission of the OU Health Sciences Center,” said Dr. Jason Sanders, Senior Vice President and Provost for OUHSC. "In our quest for NCI designation, the OU Health Sciences Center has recruited world class faculty who will train future generations of oncology healthcare professionals and cancer researchers, building our expertise in translational research, clinical trials and basic science, as well as cancer prevention."
Clinical and research activities at the Stephenson Cancer Center support more than 1,000 employees, including physicians and clinic staff as well as research scientists and laboratory staff.
oncology physicians and a large team of advanced providers and supportive care specialists delivering the highest standard of patient-centered, multidisciplinary care for every type of cancer. The Stephenson Cancer Center currently ranks number one among all cancer centers in the nation for the number of patients participating in NCI-sponsored treatment trials, and it is one of only 30 lead centers in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
The Stephenson Cancer Center is Oklahoma’s leading cancer research organization, with more than 100 research scientists working to eliminate cancer through conducting innovative basic, clinical and population-based research. These researchers are working on 225 cancer research projects supported by $44 million in annual grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sponsors.
With a legislatively mandated mission to provide statewide leadership in addressing Oklahoma’s cancer burden, the Stephenson Cancer Center supports numerous outreach, education and screening programs in partnership with the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Oklahoma’s Tribal Nations among many other aligned organizations.