UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Encyclopedia
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a matrix cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
center at one of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
’ premier public universities. The center achieved National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
designation in 1975 and became a comprehensive center in 1990. Now under the direction of Dr. Shelton Earp, UNC Lineberger is the organizing structure for cancer care and research at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
at Chapel Hill.
Members
The center's 260 members come from Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Dentistry, as well as from departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and other professional schools. They represent diverse disciplines including psychology, physics, computer science, fundamental biology, genetics, and chemistry, population, behavioral, statistical, and the clinical sciences. Members currently hold over $160 million in annual research and training grants, including $48 million in NCI funding.Establishment
In the summer of 2007, the North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes...
established the University Cancer Research Fund to support cancer research at UNC Lineberger and the NC Cancer Hospital. In 2007-2008, the fund will contribute $25 million. In 2008-2009, the support will rise to $40 million, and in 2009-2010 and thereafter support will be $50 million per year. UNC Lineberger and the NC Cancer Hospital will use these funds to make UNC a national leader in cancer research and care and to lower the cancer burden in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Patient care
UNC Lineberger offers treatment for a wide range of cancers using a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care. The 13 multidisciplinary programs include all major adult and pediatric solid and hematologic malignancies. About 3,000 new cancer patients are diagnosed or first treated each year. Patients from all 100 North Carolina counties make more than 100,000 outpatient visits annually. The center offers novel therapies via a comprehensive program of clinical trials. Patients have access to a wide range of support services including a resource center, patient counselors, and support groups. Construction is underway on the NC Cancer Hospital, funded by a $180 million bond issue provided by the NC General Assembly. With an estimated completion date of 2009, the new facility will greatly enhance all facets of patient care and clinical research, including prevention activities for patients’ family members.Research activities
UNC Lineberger’s mission is to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality in North Carolina and the nation through research, treatment, training, and outreach. The center emphasizes interdisciplinary basic, clinical, and translational cancer research and a population sciences program spanning epidemiology, early detection, prevention, and behavioral science.Other programs
UNC Lineberger holds Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in breast and GI cancers, a DoD Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence, and a recently awarded Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. Cancer Center faculty also direct the CDC coordinating center for the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network and large population-based case-control studies.UNC Lineberger outreach activities extend across North Carolina to increase cancer prevention and screening activities through partnerships with community leaders, businesses and government agencies. The Center has special research expertise in medically underserved populations and health disparities as well as an emerging strength in molecular studies of racial differences in breast
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, colon and prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
s.