NCI-designated Cancer Centers are a group of 72 cancer research institutions in the United States supported by the National Cancer Institute.^[1]

Three designations are recognized: Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Clinical Cancer Centers, and Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers. As of November 2024, there are 57 Comprehensive Cancer Centers, 8 Clinical Cancer Centers, and 7 Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers.^[1] Almost all are associated with a university. Receiving the NCI-designation places cancer centers among the top 4 percent of the approximately 1,500 cancer centers in the United States.

The standards for Comprehensive Cancer Centers are the most restrictive of the types. These facilities must demonstrate expertise in each of three areas: laboratory, clinical, and behavioral and population-based research. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are expected to initiate and conduct early phase, innovative clinical trials and to participate in the NCI's cooperative groups by providing leadership and recruiting patients for trials. Comprehensive Cancer Centers must also conduct activities in outreach and education, and provide information on advances in healthcare for both healthcare professionals and the public. Comprehensive cancer centers may apply for up to $1.5 million per year from the Department of Health and Human Services.^[2]

Clinical Cancer Centers generally conduct a combination of basic, population sciences, and clinical research, and are encouraged to stimulate collaborative research involving more than one field of study. Clinical cancer centers may apply for up to $1.4 million per year.

Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers conduct only laboratory research and do not provide patient treatment. Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers are more often affiliated with research institutes rather than universities. They are eligible to apply for up to $1.2 million per year.^[2]

Independent or freestanding cancer centers are entities unto themselves and are not considered to be part of a larger institution or university. The center’s administration controls all space, appointments, and budgets. These institutions may have university affiliations, but they remain administratively and financially distinct.^[3]

The NCI also supports Consortium Centers, wherein scientists and clinicians from multiple institutions enter into formal agreements to expand cancer research programs.^[2] Importantly, Consortium Partners are not themselves considered NCI-designated. The NCI has strict guidelines on how Consortium Partners can refer to their relationship with their parent Consortium Center.

These grants fund shared resources to further the goals of the National Cancer Institute. Some of these include the administration of cancer research programs, training activities, core facilities with technology shared by investigators, and clinical trial management services.^[2]

In 2015, more than 353,000 new patients were enrolled in a clinical trial at an NCI-designated Cancer Center.^[4]

Cancer centers must renew their status with the NIH every 5 years. The NIH funds cancer centers through a P30 Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) mechanism.^[2] To be eligible to apply, a cancer center must receive at least $10 million in cancer research funding annually. Preparation for these grant applications can be extensive. The most recent grant application prepared by MD Anderson Cancer Center took 24 months to prepare and ran to 2,963 pages.^[5]

The NCI considers the certain characteristics essential to a cancer center, and requires that applications address the institutions' resources in the areas of: Physical Space, Organizational Capabilities, Transdisciplinary Collaboration and Coordination, Cancer Focus, Institutional Commitment, Center Director.^[2]

Source: NCI^[6]

• Alabama (1): O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Arizona (2):
  • The University of Arizona Cancer Center (Tucson)
  • Mayo Clinic Cancer Center^[a] (Phoenix) (independent)
• California (8):
  • Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Irvine
  • City of Hope National Medical Center (Duarte) (independent)
  • University of California, Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center (La Jolla)
  • University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center (Sacramento)
  • Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
  • Stanford Cancer Institute at Stanford University (Stanford)^[7]
• Colorado (1): University of Colorado Cancer Center (Aurora)
• Connecticut (1): Yale Cancer Center at Yale University (New Haven)
• District of Columbia (1): Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University (Washington)^[8]
• Florida (2):
  • Mayo Clinic Cancer Center^[a] (Jacksonville) (independent)
  • Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa)
• Georgia (1): Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (Atlanta)
• Illinois (2):
  • University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University (Chicago)
• Indiana (1): Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (Indianapolis)
• Iowa (1): Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Iowa (Iowa City)
• Kansas (1): University of Kansas Cancer Center (Kansas City)^[9]
• Kentucky (1): University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center (Lexington)
• Maryland (2):
  • Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
  • University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (1): Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center with Harvard University (Boston)
• Michigan (2):
  • Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute with Wayne State University (Detroit)
  • University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center (Ann Arbor)
• Minnesota (2):
  • Mayo Clinic Cancer Center^[a] (Rochester) (independent)
  • Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• Missouri (1): Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis
• New Hampshire (1): Dartmouth Cancer Center of Dartmouth College (Lebanon)
• New Jersey (1): Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers University (New Brunswick)
• New Mexico (1): University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center (Albuquerque)
• New York (5):
  • Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University (New York)
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York) (independent)
  • Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  • Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center and New York University
  • Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center with the University at Buffalo^[10]
• North Carolina (3):
  • Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem)
  • Duke Cancer Institute at Duke University (Durham)
  • UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Ohio (2):
  • Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, & Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute)
  • The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University (Columbus)
• Oregon (1): Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (4):
  • Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
  • Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University (Philadelphia)
  • Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia)
  • UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh

• Tennessee (2):
  • Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University (Nashville)
  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis) (independent)
• Texas (3):
  • Dan L Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
  • Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
  • The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) (independent)
• Utah (1): Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Virginia (2):
  • University of Virginia Cancer Center (Charlottesville)
  • Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
• Washington (1): Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with University of Washington (Seattle)
• Wisconsin (1): University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Florida (2):
  • Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami
  • University of Florida Health Cancer Center (Gainesville)
• Hawaii (1): University of Hawaii Cancer Center (Honolulu)
• Nebraska (1): University of Nebraska Medical Center Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (Omaha)
• New York (1): Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Health System (New York)
• Oklahoma (1): Stephenson Cancer Center at University of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
• South Carolina (1): Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston)
• Texas (1): Mays Cancer Center at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

• California (2):
  • Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (La Jolla) (independent)
  • Salk Institute for Biological Studies (La Jolla) (independent)
• Indiana (1): Purdue Cancer Center of Purdue University (West Lafayette)
• Massachusetts (1): David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge)
• Maine (1): Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor and Farmington, Connecticut) (independent)
• New York (1): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (New York) (independent)
• Pennsylvania (1): Wistar Institute (Philadelphia) (independent)

• Find an NCI-designated Cancer Center