UCSD's Moores Cancer Center Receives 5-Year, $25M Grant From NIH

SAN DIEGO, CA — UC San Diego's Moores Cancer Center has received a five-year, $25 million Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute, it was announced Wednesday.

The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health. Its grant will cover around a quarter of the operating costs for the Moores Center -- which has held Comprehensive Cancer Center status since 2001, the highest level of recognition.

"Being a Comprehensive Cancer Center represents a high level of performance across multiple domains, including the depth and strength of scientific discoveries that ultimately contribute to the understanding of cancer biology, the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics, and ways to study patients to improve the quality of their lives," said Dr. Diane Simeone, director of Moores Cancer Center and professor of surgery at UCSD School of Medicine.

According to UCSD, thanks to funding from Cancer Center Support Grants dating back to 1978, Moores is among the fastest in the country to open clinical trials for new cancer therapies.

"The renewal of the Cancer Center Support Grant is testament to the far-reaching impact of Moores Cancer Center on the future of cancer care," Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Dr. John M. Carethers said. "The center is both a driver of medical innovation and a lifeline for our patients, a cornerstone of health for the entire San Diego community and beyond."

The Moores Cancer Center is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in the San Diego region, and it offers novel therapies, partners with Rady Children's Hospital for pediatric oncology trials and leads community screenings for early detection of cancer.

"We are the leading experts across a number of different cancer types in interventional clinical trials, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, leukemias and brain cancers," Simeone said. "We've nearly tripled our interventional clinical trials over the past several years, bringing more promising therapies to patients quickly, and that's what we focus on day in and day out."

UCSD Health CEO Patty Maysent said the funding strengthened the healthcare system's ability to deliver cancer care.

"We are committed to providing leading-edge therapies, clinical trials and a coordinated, compassionate care experience -- bringing the latest discoveries forward to improve outcomes and lives," she said.

— City News Service