Yale Cancer Center joins alliance of world’s leading cancer centers

In March, Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven joined the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of 25 of the world’s leading cancer centers dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer.

Since its opening in 2009, Smilow Cancer Hospital has become a hub for effective cancer care, complementing YCC’s dedication to innovation in cancer research and the development of novel treatments. Together, YCC and Smilow Cancer Hospital have pioneered many novel approaches to cancer therapy, and YCC research has contributed to significant advances in personalized medicine. YCC joined a study overseen by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that matches patients to clinical trials of new therapies targeted to their cancer’s specific genetic mutations. YCC researchers are also advancing immunotherapy treatments for melanoma, using the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

“The collaboration of over 450 scientists and physicians at Yale focused on cancer research and patient care provides a strong foundation for breakthroughs in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,” said Thomas J. Lynch Jr., M.D., director of YCC, Richard Sackler and Jonathan Sackler Professor of Medicine, and physician-in-chief at Smilow Cancer Hospital. “We are honored to be elected to NCCN institutional membership.”

YCC is one of 41 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. Its designation was recently extended for an additional five years.