This is the initial application of the Baylor College of Medicine Cancer Center (BCMCC) for NCI designation and is being submitted in the 3rd year of an NCI P20 planning grant. Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is located in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston, the largest and perhaps most complex medical center in the country with 40 member institutions. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US with a very diverse population. The BCMCC is a consortium cancer center with BCM as the lead partner, and our four hospital affiliates, Texas Children's Hospital, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, The DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Ben Taub General Hospital, as formal clinical partners. In addition, as part of a BCM strategy to create its own ambulatory care facilities, the BCMCC is leading the planning for a comprehensive multidisciplinary cancer clinic to be completed in 2008. The BCMCC was formally established in 2002 to integrate the already strong and organized scientific and clinical programs at BCM and our partners, and to create new synergies and programs that take advantage of this unique environment. The unique environment of the TMC creates many opportunities for scientific, clinical, and educational collaborations, of which the BCMCC takes full advantage. The BCMCC has been given the resources and authority to be successful at this task and has made exciting progress over the past three years. It now includes over 260 formal members, and total annual cancer-relevant research funding documented in this proposal approaches $100 million, with close to $40 million coming from the NCI. The 8 research and translational Programs that were organized through the P-20 process remain in place and are growing stronger. These Programs are Cancer Biology, Molecular Carcinogenesis, Nuclear Receptors, Breast Cancer, Cancer Cell and Gene Therapy, Prostate Cancer, Cancer Prevention, and Pediatric Cancer. In addition, although relatively new, the Center has already fostered interactions among its members that have led to several developing research programs including pancreas cancer, genomic instability, and stem cell biology among others. In addition 9 Shared Research Resources are included in this application;6 based on strong-capabilities present at BCM, and 3 (Biostatistics, the Clinical Trials Support Unit, and Pathology and Tissue Banking), created through BCMCC leadership and/or funding. The Center has also established an Office of Outreach and Health Disparities to better translate our extensive research expertise in this area into more coordinated community action among our partners and colleagues in the TMC and the region. Finally, the BCMCC has been recently blessed with a $100 million philanthropic gift from a wonderful Houston family. This gift has been entirely dedicated to support the development of the Center, its programs and its members and to foster collaboration with other institutions. Substantial funds will be available for use in the next year even as a long term endowment is created to ensure future stability. Thus, the CCSG outlines an organizational structure, outstanding leadership, integrated scientific research programs, expert Shared Resources, a process for community outreach, adequate and diverse patient resources, and the institutional support to build an outstanding NCI-designated Cancer Center that will benefit the Houston Community and region.
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