National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Celebrating more than six decades of Making Cancer History^®, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is located in Houston, Texas, on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center. It is one of the world's most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The Texas Legislature created M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1941 as a component of The University of Texas System. M. D. Anderson is one of the nation's original three Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971 and is one of 40 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers today. M. D. Anderson has ranked among the nation's top two cancer hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals" survey for 19 years, since the survey began in 1990. M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 four times in the past six years, including 2008.

Patient Care

The Joint Commission, a nonprofit hospital accreditation group, reaccredited M. D. Anderson in 2008. In 2006, M. D. Anderson was redesignated with Magnet Nursing Services Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, an honor it first received in 2001.

Research

M. D. Anderson is experiencing the most aggressive research expansion in its history with the creation of the McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. The institute comprises six translational research centers focused on genomics, proteomics, screening, diagnostic imaging and drug development. Located on the 116-acre University of Texas Research Park, about 1.5 miles south of the North Campus, the McCombs Institute will house about 25 percent of M. D. Anderson's research activities.

Four programs are in full operation: the Proton Therapy Center, the Cancer Metastasis Research Center, the Center for Cancer Immunology Research and the Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers. The Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research is scheduled for completion in 2010 and the Center for Targeted Therapy in 2011.

Education
In FY08, almost 6,000 students, including physicians, scientists, nurses and allied health professionals, took part in educational programs. M. D. Anderson offers bachelor's degrees in seven allied health disciplines. In addition, more than 1,000 clinical residents and fellows came to M. D. Anderson in FY08 to receive specialized training in the investigation and treatment of cancer. More than 450 graduate students are working on advanced degrees at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, which M. D. Anderson operates jointly with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. More than 1,500 research fellows trained in M. D. Anderson's laboratories and clinics in FY08. Nearly 300 M. D. Anderson faculty members participate fully in the training of GSBS students. Thousands more participate in continuing education and distance learning opportunities sponsored by M. D. Anderson, sharing knowledge around the globe. M. D. Anderson provides public education programs to teach healthy people about cancer symptoms and risk factors, giving them information that might one day aid them in making critical health care decisions.

Prevention
Recognizing that prevention is the best way to eliminate the threat of cancer, M. D. Anderson takes a multifaceted approach. Expanded research efforts in epidemiology and behavioral sciences complement achievements made in clinical cancer prevention. Laboratory activities support developmental and practical applications of cancer prevention. A research program focuses on disparities in prevention and care among ethnic minorities and medically underserved populations. The Cancer Prevention Center provides comprehensive cancer screening services, including cancer risk assessment, screening exams based on age and gender, personalized risk reduction strategies, genetic testing, chemoprevention, tobacco cessation, and nutrition counseling.

Human Resources
M. D. Anderson employs more than 17,600 people, including more than 1,450 faculty numbers. A volunteer corps of about 1,400 people supplements its workforce, providing more than 227,000 hours of service in FY08. Faculty, staff members and volunteers are dedicated to the core values of caring, integrity and discovery. Together they work toward fulfilling the M. D. Anderson mission of eliminating cancer as a major health threat.

Facilities
The institution's size has increased about 50 percent in the past five years. The physical plant includes an inpatient hospital with 510 beds, five research buildings, two outpatient clinic buildings, a faculty office building, a proton radiation clinic building and a patient-family hotel. Since 2005, the Mitchell Basic Sciences Research Building, the Mays Clinic, the Cancer Prevention Building, the Saberioon Molecular Markers Research Building, the Proton Therapy Center and the Pickens Academic Tower opened. An ongoing expansion of Alkek Hospital will accommodate about 300 additional inpatient beds.

For more information about M. D. Anderson, visit www.mdanderson.org or call 877.MDA.6789.

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