Duke Cancer Institute
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The Cancer Center at Duke University was established with the passage by the US Congress of the National Cancer Act in 1971. The Duke Cancer Center was designated as a "comprehensive" cancer center by the National Cancer Institute in 1973. The "comprehensive" status recognizes centers for excellence in research, clinical trials, cancer prevention, educational offerings, and outreach and service activities. The Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center’s more than 300 physicians and scientists research all aspects of cancer biology and treatment. Patients receive outstanding multidisciplinary care for all types of cancer. Physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health care professionals work together to provide individualized treatment plans for patients. Patients and their families receive psychosocial and educational support and assistance from Duke's many support programs and from a group of dedicated volunteers.
The Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) was established in 2010. It is a single entity that brings cancer care and research even closer together. By uniting hundreds of cancer physicians, researchers, educators, and staff across the medical center, medical school, and health system under a shared administrative structure, the DCI offers unprecedented opportunities for teamwork among the scientists in our labs and caregivers in our hospitals and clinics. DCI's vision is to accelerate research advances related to cancer and improve Duke's ability to translate these discoveries into the most advanced cancer care to patients. The DCI is one of only 40 centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a “comprehensive cancer center,” combining cutting-edge research with compassionate care.
DCI at a Glance
- DCI serves nearly 6,000 new cancer patients each year—from every state in the nation and from around the world
- DCI is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center—one of only 40 in the nation
- DCI includes more than 300 researchers and physicians and 500 clinical staff
- DCI includes clinical and research partnerships in India, China, Singapore, and across the United States
- The total investment in the Duke Cancer Institute, including a new cancer center facility, will be approximately $400 million
The GYN Oncology Program of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center...
is one of the most comprehensive cancer treatment, research and training programs of its kind in the country. The mission is to deliver outstanding clinical care to women with gynecologic cancer and to participate in basic and clinical investigations that will improve prospects for early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these cancers.
Fueling Discovery through Research
The Gynecologic Oncology Programs multidisciplinary team of physician-scientists and associated health specialists forms a network of expertise that quickly translates laboratory discoveries into more effective ways to treat, and prevent gynecologic cancers.
Recent discoveries in genetics and genomics hold great promise for the development of target-defined prevention- and chemotherapeutic-strategies for gynecological cancers. However, a coordinated, multi-disciplinary research effort is required to translate these new research discoveries into the next generation of therapeutic strategies. To meet this challenge the Program aims to
- define early events in gynecological carcinogenesis
- translate these advances into targeted therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of gyn cancer
- test these new therapies in investigator-initiated and multi-institutional clinical trials
Since its inception, the Program has successfully fostered scientific interactions between members of the Duke Cancer Institute who have basic, translational, and clinical research interests in gyn cancer. Within the domain of the Program we developed five subprograms that draw from our translational research strength and ability to translate basic science discoveries to impact the early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer
- Early detection strategies for ovarian cancer
- Methylation imprinting and epigenetic dysregulation
- Basic ovarian cancer biology and novel therapeutic targeting
- Genomics
- Disparities for African American women
The diversity of interest and experimental approaches used by the members of the Program represents an effective environment for fostering cross-fertilization of ideas aimed at understanding gyn cancer. In addition, the Program supports developmental projects, new faculty awards, and tissue procurement and banking.
Susan Murphy, PhD was recruited using funds from the ovarian awareness event and extensive information about her ovarian cancer research can be found on her web site. http://www.murphylab.com/MurphyLab/Welcome.html
More information regarding research and trials at Duke.
Serving Patients
Since the 1970s, the Gynecologic Oncology Program at Duke has been dedicated to delivering outstanding care to women with gynecologic cancers.
Dukes Gynecologic Oncology Program focuses on caring for the whole patient, and brings together a team of specialists to provide comprehensive care to women with cervical, uterine, ovarian, and other reproductive cancers.
The program is consistently rated as one of the top 10 in the country by U.S. News and World Report, and sees more than 350 new patients with invasive cancers each year.
Training Future Leaders
- Duke is one of only about 40 institutions in the United States to have an approved fellowship training program in gynecologic oncology.
- Fellows spend one year in gynecologic oncology research laboratories, followed by two years of clinical training
- Fellows trained at Duke have moved on to positions at major medical centers and are active in both research and clinical care.