Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center

Both basic and clinical research at the Cancer Center take place within the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), a unique cancer research consortium that brings together the enormous resources of the Harvard-affiliated institutions in the fight against adult and pediatric cancers.

Massachusetts General Hospital is a member of the NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center known as DF/HCC. It is an inter-institutional research enterprise that unites the major clinical, population, and basic cancer research efforts of the Harvard medical and public health community.

It was founded in l998 through a formal agreement of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Medicine and Public Health, and the Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham and Women's, Children's, and Massachusetts General hospitals.

The DF/HCC links the efforts of a large cadre of cancer scientists- currently more than 800 members within the seven institutions. In 2000, the DF/HCC consortium was awarded the largest Cancer Center grant in the history of the NCI Cancer Centers program. Research awards through peer-reviewed government and private funding organizations has increased dramatically as a result of cross-institutional research initiatives among our basic, clinical, and population scientists.

Collaborative research within the Center is initiated in Research Programs that cross both institutional and scientific boundaries. In addition, the Center has initiated unique Core Facilities that provide research support services to investigators. These are dedicated to enhancing scientific efficiency and collaboration, and their services are available to all Center members.

DF/HCC provides a platform for clinical trials conducted across all member institutions. During the past year, 8,949 patients were entered in 544 clinical trials, covering a broad spectrum of human cancers. The primary goal is to promote collaborative interactions that will lead to new approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare

Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare is dedicated to providing the highest quality care and the most advanced treatments for adults with cancer. In 1996, three international leaders in cancer and research - Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - combined their adult oncology resources to form Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare (DF/PCC). Through this unique collaboration, adult cancer specialists coordinate clinical research, training, and all aspects of patient care.

The DF/PCC collaboration has created one of the largest cancer-care systems in the US. Each year, the three institutions link through DF/PCC to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to over 60,000 cancer patients.

In clinical research, the continued success of DF/PCC has increased the number and quality of clinical trials and laid the foundation for the creation of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.