National Comprehensive Cancer Network

NCCN Network

Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, Pennyslvania
888.369.2427
www.fccc.edu

Learn more about clinical trials at this NCCN Member Institution.

Profile

Fox Chase Cancer Center is one of the nation's first comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute in 1974. Fox Chase's activities include basic, clinical and prevention research; detection and treatment of cancer; and community outreach programs. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Fox Chase among the best cancer-care facilities in the nation.

Fox Chase was formed in 1974 by the union of American Oncologic Hospital (the nation's first cancer hospital, established in 1904) and the Institute for Cancer Research (founded in 1927). The Center's 100-bed hospital is one of the few facilities in the country devoted entirely to cancer care. Today, Fox Chase sees about 7,500 new patients a year. Annual hospital admissions total 4,500 and outpatient visits to physicians are almost 75,000 a year. In September 2000, Fox Chase became the nation's first comprehensive cancer center and Pennsylvania's first hospital to receive Magnet status for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which renewed this honor in 2004.

As an internationally recognized treatment and research center, Fox Chase offers a number of multidisciplinary treatment options to patients with all types of cancers, including rare and difficult-to-manage tumors. Specialists at Fox Chase are recognized nationally and internationally in medical, radiation, and surgical oncology; diagnostic imaging; diagnostic pathology; pain management; oncology nursing; and social work.

· Fox Chase is well-known for developing three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and was the first in the Philadelphia region to use intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Fox Chase was also first in the region to offer the Calypso 4-D Localization System, Trilogy Stereotactic System, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS, or functional MRI) and 4-D CT treatment simulator-all tools to aid in delivering the most targeted radiation therapy. Fox Chase was also the first in the world to use MRI in radiation treatment planning.

· Fox Chase offers the broadest range of minimally invasive treatment options for cancer surgery. Fox Chase surgeons specialize in da Vinciâ robotic-assisted surgery for more types of cancers than other area hospitals, including prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, colon cancer, head and neck cancer, gynecologic cancers, and lung cancer. Fox Chase is also one of only a handful of places in the nation to offer advanced laparoscopic and minimally invasive techniques for patients with cancers of the liver, pancreas, bile ducts, and gallbladder. In addition, Fox Chase offers transoral laser surgery to treat patients with hard-to-reach tumors of the head and neck. Fox Chase surgeons are highly skilled in using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive option for patients with lung cancer and other tumors of the chest.

· State-of-the-art surgical facilities and services include eight operating rooms; microvascular and reconstructive surgery; endoscopy unit; laser surgery and cryosurgery technology; CT-guided biopsy and stereotactic breast-biopsy technology; full anesthesia capabilities; pre-surgical/post-anesthesia care unit; and an eight-bed intensive care unit.

· Fox Chase's broad-based program of clinical research includes trials of new prevention, diagnostic and treatment techniques. About 225 trials are under way at any one time. Fox Chase is also involved in developing trials to test new agents that may prevent cancer in high-risk individuals and is an active participant in national cancer prevention studies

Fox Chase scientists and physicians have long collaborated together in conducting clinical research, basic laboratory research and population research. Combining research in many disciplines with patient care enables Fox Chase to translate new research findings into medical applications that may become models for improved cancer care. The Keystone Programs for Collaborative Discovery-a suite of innovative team-based cancer research programs-are the latest research initiative at Fox Chase, launched in February 2008. At the heart of each Keystone Program is a self-organized group of scientists, clinicians, and other research professionals seeking to focus their joined expertise on a major question in cancer. The expectation is that this team-based, thematic research approach will accelerate the pace of medical progress against cancer.

Fox Chase has about 2,500 employees and an operating budget of $335 million for fiscal year 2009. Research is conducted in more than 90 laboratories by a staff of more than 325 physicians and scientists who hold MDs, PhDs, or both. Investigators at Fox Chase have received many awards and honors, including Nobel Prizes in medicine and chemistry, a Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, a Lasker Clinical Research Award, American Cancer Society Medals of Honor, memberships in the National Academy of Sciences, and induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Fox Chase has had established partnerships with community hospitals in the region since 1986. The Fox Chase Cancer Center Partners program now includes 26 hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This program has been successful in raising the quality of cancer care in the community and increasing the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials. The program's newest resource, Fox Chase Cancer Center Consultants, provides information on how Fox Chase developed the Partners program, services offered, and other operational issues. Consulting services are provided by a team of oncologists, business strategists, and other professionals.

Fox Chase is a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The Center's participation in NCCN includes representation on its Board of Directors. In addition, many Fox Chase physicians are members or leaders of the NCCN's Guidelines panels. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology^™-the recognized standard of care in cancer treatment-offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment guidelines in medicine. Fox Chase also takes part in cancer outcome studies for many types of cancers, including lymphoma, breast, colorectal, lung, and ovarian cancers.

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