University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center

NCI-designated Cancer Center

NCI-designated Cancer Centers are a group of approximately 66 cancer research institutions in the United States supported by the National Cancer Institute....

located in the Hillman Cancer Center in the Shadyside

Shadyside (Pittsburgh)

Shadyside is a neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It has zip codes of both 15232 and 15206, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 8...

neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The only NCI-designated cancer center in Western Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...

, UPCI is composed of collaborative academic and research efforts between the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...

, and Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

. UPCI works in tandem with UPMC Cancer Centers to provide clinical cancer care at both the flagship Hillman Cancer Center location and at dozens of UPMC-affiliated sites throughout the Pittsburgh region as well as at a growing list of overseas locations. Founded in 1984, UPCI became the youngest cancer center in history to achieve NCI-designation, and as of 2007 received nearly $200 million in funding from the 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...

ranking it in the top ten of all cancer research institutes.

Cancer Institute

The UPCI was founded in 1984 under the direction of Ronald B. Herberman, MD. UPCI remains the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Western Pennsylvania, and today is composed of 625 research faculty members specializing in disciplines ranging from cancer prevention and early detection to novel therapeutic discovery, survivorship, and end of life care. While most UPCI faculty maintain academic appointments at the University of Pittsburgh and physician-scientists maintain their clinical appointments through UPMC hospitals, some UPCI members are affiliated solely with UPMC or neighboring Carnegie Mellon University. Four target research areas of molecular and medical oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

at the institute include 1) the biological basis of cancer development and progression; 2) identification of new biomarkers for improved cancer detection and diagnosis; 3) the development of novel therapeutics for successful and comprehensive cancer treatment; and 4) establish and implement effect cancer prevention measures. In 2007, UPCI received nearly $200 million in research grants, and was ranked 10th nationally in funding from the National Cancer Institute, including three competitive Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants focusing on head and neck, lung, and skin cancers. UPCI works in tandem with UPMC Cancer Centers Network to translate the latest research advances to clinical application for patients throughout the Pittsburgh Tri-State region, as well as those coming from other regions of the United States and at international locations. UPCI also offers a variety of education, training programs and fellowships, in conjunction with related schools within the University of Pittsburgh, for both new cancer researchers to experienced investigators. The current director of the UPCI and UPMC Cancer Centers is Nancy E. Davidson, MD.

UPMC Cancer Centers

UPMC Cancer Centers work in tandem with the UPCI to offer the latest advances in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment to patients at UPMC-affiliated locations throughout the Pittsburgh region and abroad. The centers combine to create a network of more than 2,300 physicians, scientists, administrative staff, and other health care professionals that provide the latest care, technology, and treatments, as well as clinical trials, to over 36,000 patients each year. UPMC centers encompass 13 areas of expertise, each focusing on a specific type or treatment of cancer. These include programs devoted to melanoma

Melanoma

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...

, brain cancers

Brain tumor

A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...

, breast cancer

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

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel cancer, is a cancer caused by uncontrolled cell growth , in the colon, rectum, or vermiform appendix. Colorectal cancer is clinically distinct from anal cancer, which affects the anus....

and gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal cancer

Gastrointestinal cancer refers to malignant conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach, biliary system, pancreas, bowels, and anus. The symptoms relate to the organ affected, and can include obstruction , abnormal bleeding, or other associated problems...

cancers, head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...

s, leukemia

Leukemia

Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

s and lymphoma

Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...

s, liver cancer

Liver cancer

Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...

, lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

, gynecologic cancers

Gynecologic oncology

Gynecologic oncology is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system, including ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, and vulvar cancer...

, prostate

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...

and urologic

Urology

Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

cancers, and stem cell transplantation. Pediatric

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

cancers are treated by specialists at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

Locations

The network works as a hub-and-satellite system of cancer care services at locations that are tied to the central hub and the flagship facility of the UPMC Cancer Centers Network and UPCI, the Hillman Cancer Center. The UPMC Cancer Centers Network covers a geographic area of more than 200 miles (321.9 km) around greater Pittsburgh, comprising 180 affiliated oncologists at 40 locations throughout Western Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania

and includes a growing list of international locations starting in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. In November, 2008, UPMC announced a partnership with GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...

to open 25 additional cancer treatment centers across Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

over the next ten years.

Pittsburgh Locations

Hillman Cancer Center* (Primary Location), Pittsburgh, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at Magee- Hospital of UPMC,* Pittsburgh, PA
Mary Hillman Jennings Radiation Oncology Center at Shadyside Hospital,* Pittsburgh, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Mercy
UPMC Mercy
UPMC Mercy is a main hospital facility of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and is located in the Uptown section of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh and a few blocks from the Mellon Arena...

, Pittsburgh, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC St. Margaret,* Pittsburgh, PA

Locations North of Pittsburgh

UPMC Cancer Center, Natrona Heights,* Natrona Heights, PA
Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania
Natrona Heights is an unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States; it is located in Western Pennsylvania within the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, approximately northeast of Pittsburgh...
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Horizon, Farrell, PA
Farrell, Pennsylvania
Farrell is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,050 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
UPMC Cancer Center New Castle, New Castle, PA
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Passavant,* Pittsburgh, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Northwest,* Seneca, PA
Seneca, Pennsylvania
Seneca is a census-designated place in Venango County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 966.-Geography:Seneca is located at ....
UPMC Cancer Center Wexford, Wexford, PA
Wexford, Pennsylvania
Wexford is an unincorporated community in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The area known as Wexford is split among multiple municipalities, including Franklin Park, McCandless, Pine Township, and Marshall Township...
UPMC Cancer Center at Clarion Hospital, Clarion, PA
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in Clarion County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles north-northeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. Merely 2,004...
UPMC/Jameson Cancer Center, New Castle, PA
UPMC Cancer Center, Greenville, Greenville, PA
Greenville, Pennsylvania
Greenville is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Located along the Shenango River, Greenville is roughly 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Greenville is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 570,000 people...
The Regional Cancer Center, Erie,* Erie, PA
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
The Regional Cancer Center, Meadville,* Meadville, PA
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
The Regional Cancer Center, Ashtabula,* Ashtabula, OH
Ashtabula, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,962 people, 8,435 households, and 5,423 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,775.9 people per square mile . There were 9,151 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile...

Locations South of Pittsburgh

UPMC Cancer Center at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Clairton, PA
Clairton, Pennsylvania
Clairton is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,796 at the 2010 census. Under Pennsylvania legal classifications for local governments, Clairton is considered a third-class city...
Radiation Oncology Center at Jefferson Regional Medical Center* Clairton, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at St. Clair Hospital,* Mt. Lebanon, PA
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Mt. Lebanon is a home rule municipality, formerly a township, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 33,137 at the 2010 census....
UPMC Cancer Center Uniontown, Uniontown, PA
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
Robert E. Eberly Pavilion,* Uniontown, PA
UPMC Cancer Center Upper St. Clair, Upper St. Clair, PA
UPMC Cancer Center Washington, Washington, PA
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
UPMC and The Washington Hospital Cancer Center,* Washington, PA

Locations East of Pittsburgh

Arnold Palmer Pavilion at Mountain View Medical Park,* Greensburg, PA
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
UPMC Cancer Center, Indiana, Indiana, PA
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,895 at the 2000 census.The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was...
Arnold Palmer Pavilion at Oakbrook Commons, Greensburg, PA
UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC McKeesport,* McKeesport, PA
McKeesport, Pennsylvania
McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States; it is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census...
UPMC Cancer Center, Monroeville/Haymaker, Monroeville, PA
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located about east of the city of Pittsburgh, Monroeville is a bustling suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments...
UPMC Cancer Center, Monroeville/Mosside, Monroeville, PA
Arnold Palmer Pavilion at Mt. Pleasant, Mount Pleasant, PA
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It stands 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Population in 1900, 4,745 people; in 1910, 5,812 people; and in 1940, 5,824 people...
John P. Murtha Regional Cancer Center,* Johnstown, PA
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
UPMC Cancer Center Windber, Windber, PA
Windber, Pennsylvania
Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, eight miles south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community was founded by coal barons Charles and Edward Julius Berwind...

Locations West of Pittsburgh

UPMC Cancer Center, Beaver, Beaver, PA
Beaver, Pennsylvania
Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 4,775, having dropped from 5,641 in 1940....
UPMC/HVHS Cancer Center at The Medical Center, Beaver,* Beaver, PA
UPMC/HVHS Cancer Center at UPMC West,* Coraopolis, PA
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
Coraopolis is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 5,677 at the 2010 census. In 1940 the population peaked at 11,086. It is a small community located to the west of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburgh International Airport...
UPMC Cancer Center, Kennedy, McKees Rocks, PA
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
McKees Rocks, also known as "The Rocks", is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, along the south bank of the Ohio River. The borough population was 6,104 at the 2010 census.In the past, it was known for its extensive iron and steel interests...
UPMC Cancer Center, Sewickley Medical Oncology, Sewickley, PA
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
UPMC Cancer Center, Steubenville, Steubenville, OH
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

International Locations

Beacon Hospital Cancer Centre,* Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
UPMC Whitfield Cancer Centre,* Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

, Ireland

*Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment is available at these locations

Hillman Cancer Center

Hillman Cancer Center is the flagship flagship facility for the clinical services of UPMC Cancer Centers and research activities for the UPCI. The $130 million, 350,000-square-foot, 5-story facility, designed by Pittsburgh architectural firm IKM, opened in 2002 in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It is located directly across Centre Avenue from, and connected via a pedestrian bridge to, UPMC Shadyside hospital where cancer surgery and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) are conducted. The Hillman Cancer Center building houses both a research pavilion and a clinical pavilion connected by a three-story atrium. The facility brings together 400 full-time researchers and clinicians and 185 physicians practicing in the UPMC Cancer Centers network. The clinical pavilion offers cancer prevention, risk assessment, detection, treatment, and stress and symptom management services including radiology services such as magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...

(MRI), ultrasound

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...

, computed tomography

Computed tomography

X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...

(CT) and positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...

(PET). It also includes waiting rooms equipped with televisions and play areas for children and access to a kitchen stocked with beverages and light refreshments. The outpatient clinic, known as The William Cooper Pavilion, honoring the oncologist who led the campaign for philanthropic support of the center, was designed by architectural firm Radelet McCarthy. The Hillman Cancer Center also offers other amenities for patients including valet parking, a patient and family education and information center, a garden and meditation with a granite fountain, a café, gift shop and a salon where patients can receive salon services and purchase wigs, hats, skin care products and prostheses.

A prominent sculpture at the center is the bronze "Circle of Care" by Tuck Langland

Tuck Langland

Tuck Langland is a sculptor who lives in Granger, Indiana. His monument-size bronze figures are featured in hospitals, churches, private collections, , and dozens of other places. He is perhaps best known for his two popular books, Practical Sculpture and From Clay to Bronze. Tuck is the former...

of Granger, Indiana

Granger, Indiana

Granger is a census-designated place in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, located in Clay and Harris Townships. The population was 30,465 at the 2010 census. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation and the South Bend Community School Corporation maintain the public schools in the area...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.