KU in the Capitol

Regents support cancer initiative

The Board of Regents voted unanimously to support KU’s effort to achieve Comprehensive Cancer Center status from the National Cancer Institute.

Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute Director Roy Jensen, ’80, who was recruited to from the NCI-designated Vanderbilt University-Ingram Cancer Center, said KU is a logical location for the center.

"Over the last 10 years in the United States as a whole, cancer mortality has been dropping about 1.1 percent. In Kansas, it has only been falling at about half that rate," he said.

Achieving the designation will not come quickly. Many centers spend nearly a decade pursuing NCI status. KU's goal is to have the designation in place by 2010. If the designation is achieved, it would be comparable to getting the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" for oncology work, Jensen said.

"I think there's a number of things (designation would mean to KU) in terms of both public health and oncology, and it's a great engine to build the research interests of the University," Jensen said.

Namely, NCI designation would help fund raising that would increase the center's capacity for research. The increased funding would enable more clinicians to do research into various areas of cancer. Jensen added the entire University would benefit, as NCI grants would be spread around to enable various "cores of excellence" throughout KU, such as DNA sequencing in the division of biological sciences. The hope is to also leverage KU's renowned school of pharmacy in seeking the designation.

Chancellor Robert Hemenway has identified the designation as the University's top priority. "My dream for this medical center, for this community and for our state is to provide this region with the comprehensive cancer center its citizens deserve," Hemenway said in his convocation address in September.

"My dream for Kansas is nothing short of ending suffering and death from cancer. Within our grasp are the tools and talent necessary to transform what the cancer patients of this region think of when they hear the word cancer. It is our No. 1 priority."