About the University of Colorado Cancer Center


CU Cancer Center Vision and Mission

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is Colorado’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of only four in the 10-state Rocky Mountain Region, creating a nexus of world-class doctors and researchers focused on discovering and delivering new ways to prevent and treat cancer.

 

Our approximately 300 members work in labs and hospitals on the Anschutz Medical Campus including UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, and also at partner institutions including CU Boulder, CSU Flint Animal Cancer Center, Denver Health, and UCHealth locations across the state. 


CU Cancer Center focuses on interdisciplinary research conducted in four programs: Cancer Prevention and Control, Tumor Host Interactions, Developmental Therapeutics, and Molecular and Cellular Oncology.


CU Cancer Center Vision

Prevent and conquer cancer. Together.

Mission

Uniting our community to overcome cancer through innovation, discovery, prevention, early detection, multidisciplinary care, and education.


By the Numbers

$74.2M

Direct Annual Cancer Research Funding

80+

NCI Grants Worth Over $17 Million

274

Full and Mentored Members

599

Publications in FY2022

Why Come to the CU Cancer Center

Discoveries at CU Cancer Center and elsewhere allow us to offer state of the art treatments including genetically targeted drugs, anti-cancer immunotherapies and cancer stem cell-directed therapies, both in standard-of-care settings and in clinical trials. Multidisciplinary clinics for many cancer types streamline the process of diagnosis and treatment planning, while powering each case with input from 30+ experts across treatment specialties. Our expertise across cancer types helps us provide world-class treatment for common cancers, while offering hope for many patients with difficult or aggressive tumors who have struggled to find treatment options elsewhere.
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CU Cancer Center History

Since its inception in 1985, the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center has become the hub of cancer research in the state of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. The CU Cancer Center received its first five-year National Cancer Institute (NCI) cancer center support grant in 1987 as a clinical cancer center and its comprehensive designation in 1997.

 

University of Colorado Hospital, where the majority of our adult cancer patients receive treatment, is ranked in the top 50 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Our pediatric cancer patients receive treatment primarily at Children's Hospital Colorado, which U.S. News ranks #9 in pediatric cancer care.

 

CU Cancer Center is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers working to establish and deliver the gold standard in cancer clinical guidelines. CU Cancer Center also is a member of the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN), a unique research partnership among North America’s top cancer centers leveraging multiple data sources and matching patients to targeted treatments.