ATLANTA (May 17, 2017) – Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has earned the prestigious comprehensive cancer center designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), placing it in the top 1%t of all cancer centers in the United States.
This elite NCI designation means that the Winship Cancer Institute and its pediatric component, the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, have demonstrated that its outstanding programs are reducing the cancer burden on Georgia through research conducted in its laboratories, its clinical trial program, and its population-based science.
“We are honored to be the pediatric component of Winship Cancer Institute, the newest NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in the nation, and the first NCI-designated institute in Georgia,” said Douglas K.Graham, MD, PhD, Director of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and a member of the Winship Cancer Institute Executive Committee. “Together with our partners at the Winship Cancer Institute, we continue to seek cures to the most challenging childhood oncologic and hematologic conditions.”
An estimated 50,000 Georgians, including more than 500 of Georgia’s children, will be diagnosed with cancer this year. The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is one of the largest pediatric cancer and blood disorders programs in the country, caring for more than 7,000 children and young adults each year. For these patients, the innovative research from the Winship Cancer Institute and Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center translates into better ways of detecting and diagnosing cancer. Winship Cancer Institute has more than 250 clinical trials enrolling patients in pursuit of better approaches to nearly every type of cancer.
"The NCI comprehensive cancer center designation signifies the Winship Cancer Institute's outstanding research and education programs are changing the lives of the citizens of Georgia for the better," said Walter J. Curran Jr., MD, Executive Director of the Winship Cancer Institute. "As the first and only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in the state, our clinicians and researchers work tirelessly to substantially lessen the burden of cancer on the lives of Georgia's residents."
As one of the most active institutions in the U.S. in pediatric clinical trial enrollment, the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center’s robust clinical research program offers patients access to more than 300 clinical studies, including some of the most novel treatment options in the country. Our physicians participate—and often play leadership roles—in all of the major national collaborative research consortia geared toward the early clinical development of promising therapies for cancer and blood disorder treatment. The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center ranks in the top 1% nationally for enrollment in Children’s Oncology Group (COG) therapeutic clinical trials.
The Winship Cancer Institute's comprehensive cancer center designation was awarded after a rigorous evaluation process conducted by the NCI that included participation from the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, submission of a written grant and a site visit conducted by more than two dozen scientists from peer institutions.