NCI Evaluates Siteman Cancer Center as “Exceptional” and Renews Cancer Center Support Grant for Five Years

Abstract:

The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center (SCC) at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital is a NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center whose mission is to prevent cancer in the community and transform cancer patient care through scientific discovery. SCC accomplishes this mission through strong research programs, shared resource support, education and training, pilot funding programs, and community outreach. The translational research and scientific discovery facilitated by our seven multidisciplinary research programs and 10 shared resources (11th requested in this application) is driven by the needs of patients in our 82-county catchment area throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. The center applies the exceptional talent among our 230 members, from four schools and 23 departments, to further understand the mechanisms of cancer pathways, speed the conduit from bench to bedside, and implement prevention strategies that impact cancer screening, incidence, and mortality in our catchment area. SCC’s Breast Cancer Research, Hematopoietic Development and Malignancy, Mechanisms of Cancer Biology, Oncologic Imaging, Prevention and Control, Solid Tumor Therapeutics, and Tumor Immunology Research Programs promote novel, multidisciplinary cancer research and encourage intra, inter, and cross- institution collaboration. Success is evidenced by SCC’s key metrics in the project period; data below are current as of this application and each represents an all-time high for the center:  NCI funding – $41.0M direct, excluding CCSG dollars  Number of large collaborative grants – 72  Interventional clinical trial accruals – 5,071 in 2018  Total cancer-focused publications – 1,148 in 2018; 35% intra- or inter-programmatic  High Impact Publications – 201 in 2018 (> 10.0 IF) In the next five years, SCC will advance its mission through exceptional research and clinical care, with special emphasis on four overarching scientific themes chosen to optimally harness and magnify the center’s impact on cancer in the field and in our catchment. These scientific pillars are: genomics and its application to clinical care; innovation in imaging technologies and their use in cancer diagnosis and treatment; immunology and the enhancement of patient care using unique immune therapies; and prevention, to reduce the burden of disease in the population of patients we serve. These core strengths align with SCC’s current strategic plan and inform research program aims, objectives, and initiatives.