At the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, we often talk about our many designations and recognitions. But what do these actually mean for you? Here’s why they matter – to you and to our patients.
National Cancer Institute-designated Center
The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is Nebraska’s only cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and one of only 73 in the country. It is jointly operated by Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
Why is this significant?
The NCI is the federal government’s lead agency for cancer research. NCI-designated cancer centers are nationally recognized for scientific excellence and their commitment to cancer treatment and research focused on developing more effective approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and therapy.
This is a fitting designation for the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. The center's mission is to lead the nation's research efforts to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and survivorship.
This goal was top of mind when the center was built and opened in 2017. Its design integrates high-tech clinical medicine with research to accelerate new therapies for patients by allowing scientists and clinicians to work together in one building as a team. This daily collaboration facilitates the flow of information and idea-sharing. It ultimately speeds up the transfer of scientific discoveries from the lab into new treatments that benefit patients.
When it comes to cancer, receiving care from a medical center that is deeply embedded in research is crucial. “Research is one of the driving forces to advancing cancer treatment,” says Apar Kishor Ganti, MD, medical oncologist and associate director of clinical trials at Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. “For patients, a research-focused medical center means greater access to the most advanced and innovative cancer treatments available,” he says.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network member
Nebraska Medicine is also a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a non-profit alliance of 33 of the world’s leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research and education. These medical centers are dedicated to improving and facilitating high-quality, effective, efficient and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives.
Each NCCN member may appoint expert physicians from their institution to serve on one of many panels representing various cancer types. These panels are responsible for developing and updating screening and treatment guidelines by reviewing the latest clinical trials, published articles and presentations at national cancer meetings.
“We have many experts from the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center on these panels,” says Quan Ly, MD, Nebraska Medicine surgical oncologist. “It’s a big responsibility. They are the ones writing the guidelines on how to best treat specific cancers using the most current treatments and research evidence. Being a part of these panels ensures our patients are receiving the most up-to-date and innovative care available.”
Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium
The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is a founding member of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. Members include medical centers and researchers who are affiliated with Big Ten universities across the country.
The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture that drives science rapidly from ideas to new approaches in cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with – and mentor – the research leaders of tomorrow, all with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.
This group's benefits include participating in clinical trial working groups, consolidating review and approval of new clinical trials, sharing specimens with clinically recorded data, mentoring junior faculty, and quickly opening trials across 16 member academic institutions. As a group, the Big Ten cancer centers each year support the work of 3,000 cancer researchers, care for more than 75,000 new cancer patients and enroll more than 30,000 patient volunteers on cancer clinical trials.