The new complex will enable physicians and researchers to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.
By Kristi Birch
The University of Kansas Cancer Center broke ground on the future site of a new complex Friday that will bring research and patient care into one complex for the first time in KU Cancer Center’s history.
The new building realizes a long-time vision of KU Cancer Center’s leadership to bring together the entire cancer community — from physician-scientists to researchers to physicians and clinical staff — side by side in one complex.
“Today marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to address one of the greatest health challenges of our time: cancer,” said Roy Jensen, M.D., vice chancellor and director of KU Cancer Center. “This new center will unite researchers, clinicians and patients side-by-side in one facility, supporting the real-time collaborations that are essential for groundbreaking discoveries. We intend to create a global destination for patient care and research.”
The groundbreaking, which was followed by a celebratory event at KU Medical Center, was attended by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and a host of other dignitaries.
The new facility, which will be located on the 39th and Rainbow campus in Kansas City, will enable the whole patient experience — from nutrition and social workers to pathology and imaging, and everything in-between — to happen in one place. It also will give patients access to groundbreaking clinical trials and therapies developed on site. Physicians and researchers will be able to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.
In 2022, The University of Kansas Cancer Center was designated as a “Comprehensive” cancer center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the NCI and is the gold standard for cancer centers.
“We knew that (the comprehensive designation) wasn’t the culmination of our work,” said Douglas A. Girod, M.D., chancellor of the University of Kansas. “Rather, it was an important milestone along the way to our next goal – which was to develop the facilities necessary to bring clinical and research capabilities together in the same place to provide better patient care and facilitate the development of new treatments and cures.”
The new complex will support cellular therapy, which uses the body’s own cells to fight each person’s individual cancer with fewer side effects than traditional treatments. It will also house a cellular therapeutics Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory that will expedite CAR T-cell therapy, a novel treatment that uses genetically re-engineered immune cells known as T-cells to find and destroy cancer. By bringing a cellular therapeutics GMP laboratory in-house, the costs and wait time for the creation of these specialized cells will be reduced. KU Cancer Center is the only cancer center in the region offering all seven FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies.
The complex is funded by multiple sources, including a $100 million lead gift from the Sunderland Foundation, the largest ever received by the University of Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran secured federal funding and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly supported the appropriation of state funds. Other funding came from private foundations and donors.
“All recovery from this dreaded disease starts with the power of hope.,” Moran said. “Today we celebrate hope.”