The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) [1] is dedicated to creating a cancer-free world by integrating scientific research with excellence in education and patient-centered care – a strategy that leads to better methods of prevention, detection and treatment.
Ohio State is one of 53 National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only a few centers funded by the NCI to conduct phase I and II clinical trials on novel anticancer drugs provided by the NCI. 2021 marked the 45th anniversary of the university’s designation by the NCI as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, a designation competitively maintained since 1976. In its last three formal reviews for five-year re-designation, the university’s cancer program, embodied in the OSUCCC – James, has received the NCI’s highest descriptor of “exceptional”.
Cancer research
The OSUCCC – James has more than $105 million in active cancer-relevant funding, and $61.5 million of that total – more than half – comes from the NCI. In 2021 alone, Ohio State cancer researchers received 28 new research grants totaling $11.1 million from the NCI, placing the cancer program in the top 20 cancer institutions in the United States for total NCI funding.
The OSUCCC – James has nearly 360 full or introductory cancer researchers who collectively represent 11 of the 15 colleges at Ohio State. Each researcher is a member of one of five multidisciplinary research programs: Cancer Control, Leukemia Research, Cancer Biology, Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention, or Translational Therapeutics. In 2021, these researchers authored or co-authored 824 publications in peer reviewed journals, including 174 in journals with impact factors of 10 or higher. Also, 98% of all articles published were collaborative, and over 96% were multi-institutional.
In addition, OSUCCC – James researchers lead or assist with nearly 700 clinical
trials offering the latest cancer treatments, some of which are available nowhere else. The patient accrual rate for clinical trials at the OSUCCC – James is 15%, well above the 3% national average.
Patient care
As the cancer program’s 356-bed adult patient-care component, The James is the third largest cancer hospital in the country and one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. With 21 floors and more than 1.1 million square feet, The James is a transformational facility that fosters collaboration and integration of cancer research and clinical care. Because early diagnosis is the key to successful cancer treatment, the OSUCCC – James opened The James Cancer Diagnostic Center to provide patients who may have cancer with direct, expedited access to diagnostic testing in a center that is open for same-day or next-day appointments.
The OSUCCC – James since 2014 has enrolled more than 63,000 patients in a
‘Total Cancer Care’ (TCC) protocol for voluntarily sharing deidentified clinical data that advances cancer research and personalizes cancer care. The TCC protocol has been adopted by all 18 member institutions across the United States that constitute the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) [2], a research collaboration co-founded and co-anchored by the OSUCCC – James and Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Through ORIEN, TCC-consented patients across the nation donate clinical data for research that helps scientists better understand cancer at the molecular level.
International reputation
Because of its international reputation for providing outstanding research-based cancer care, the OSUCCC – James is regarded as a global destination of choice, serving patients from all 50 U.S. states, three U.S territories and 85 other countries. The institution’s ‘Destination Medicine Global Health Care’ team [3] is dedicated to ensuring that distance and language are no obstacles to receiving the internationally recognized cancer care available at Ohio State.
References
- https://cancer.osu.edu/
- https://www.oriencancer.org/the-orien-difference
- https://cancer.osu.edu/for-patients-and-caregivers/international-and-out-of-state-patients-guide
