UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

In the late 1960s, a group of scientists and volunteers at UCLA came together to develop a cancer center they hoped would become renowned for excellence in research, education and patient care.

In 1976, the cancer center at UCLA was designated "comprehensive" by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Of the 61 NCI cancer center programs nationwide, only 39 receive the gold-star "comprehensive" status, which confirms that UCLA adheres to the highest standards of excellence in patient care, education, basic science, clinical research and cancer prevention and treatment.

Today, UCLA´s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) has established an international reputation for developing new cancer therapies, providing the best in experimental and traditional treatments, and expertly guiding and training the next generation of medical researchers. With a membership of more than 230 physicians and scientists, the Jonsson Cancer Center handles more than 20,000 patient visits per year and conducts hundreds of clinical trials, providing the latest in experimental cancer treatments.

Patients at the JCCC benefit from care provided by experts from different specialties who work together to help them contend with the immediate and long-term challenges of cancer. Team-oriented, state-of-the-art care for cancer patients who do not require hospitalization is provided in the UCLA Oncology Center (outpatient clinic) and in various other clinics and programs that focus on specific kinds of cancers. Patients who require hospitalization can receive care at the UCLA Medical Center, adjacent to the JCCC. Psychosocial and supportive care for cancer patients and their families also is considered an integral part of the JCCC´s comprehensive services. And for people at high risk of cancer, due to family histories or inherited genetic mutations associated with cancer, prevention experts at JCCC are leading research studies on genetics and lifestyle factors that may shed light on new ways to minimize risks of developing the disease.

The benefits of seeking treatment at a comprehensive cancer center include:

• Access to a full range of services, including information on research advances in the laboratory, clinical trials (studies of new treatments for cancer patients), FDA-approved treatments, and psychosocial and supportive care.

• Integration with a world-class medical center and research and teaching university, with a focus on cancer.

• Representation by more than 40 scientific and medical disciplines.
• Fully integrated cancer control program that emphasizes prevention and early detection, as well as research that identifies problems and develops effective interventions to minimize the number of cancer cases and deaths.
• Close collaboration between researchers and physicians, resulting in rapid "translation" of scientific discoveries into improved cancer detection, prevention and treatment for patients.
• Physicians with extensive experience in specialized areas and access to other international experts and researchers.
• Focus on interdisciplinary patient care — care that involves medical professionals from a variety of disciplines, including medicine, surgery, radiation and psychosocial services.
• The JCCC provides an infrastructure to support basic, clinical and population-based cancer research and to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The JCCC receives support from the National Cancer Institute through a Cancer Center Support Grant. Through the grant, shared services are established to aid our investigators in all areas of cancer research. Additional support is provided to recruit the "best and brightest" young faculty to UCLA from around the world. Through the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, philanthropic support funds "seed" grants for new research projects to stimulate the translation of laboratory discoveries into improved patient care and support innovative clinical research at UCLA and affiliated institutions.
• The JCCC members work in the following divisions: Basic Research, directed by Dr. Harvey Herschman; Clinical/Translational Research, directed by Dr. Dennis Slamon; and Prevention and Control Research, directed by Dr. Patricia Ganz. Although the majority of the faculty works on the Westwood campus, cancer center members also are based at major UCLA-affiliated teaching institutions such as the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Olive View Hospital and Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. As a cancer center associated with a research and teaching university, the JCCC's faculty hold academic appointments in a variety of schools and colleges at UCLA, including the schools of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Dentistry and the College of Letters and Science.

To contact the Jonsson Cancer Center for information, email JCCC Information at JCCCInfo@mednet.ucla.edu.