Background
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, is one of the fastest growing cancer centers in the United States. Only 20 years old, it achieved NCI designation in 1998 and NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center status in 2001. Its sole mission is "to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer."

Funding for original construction came from the state's cigarette tax, while the momentum to create the Center came from a cadre of legislators, physicians, educators, and business leaders who envisioned a new generation of cancer care and research.

A not-for-profit corporation located at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Moffitt is best known for its translational research, forging new discoveries out of the convergence of basic science, clinical trials, and patient care.

Today, Moffitt devotes more than 1.4 million square feet to research and patient care. New patients to the Cancer Center totaled about 15,200 in 2006, with more than 232,000 outpatient visits recorded.

Patient Care
Moffitt uses an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate and treat cancer patients. In support of this philosophy, academic and clinical services are organized into 14 disease-oriented programs. Each program consists of a team that includes medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians, clinical research managers, and other support personnel.

A new focus at Moffitt is Total Cancer Care (TCC), an all-encompassing approach to treating cancer patients combining information technology, science, and clinical treatment to provide evidence-based guidelines that will improve care and outcomes. TCC involves studies of genetic predisposition, the impact of healthy lifestyles, quality improvement, survivorship, and molecular profiling - incorporating translational research at every step along the continuum. It will follow patients prospectively through screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Research Activities
Scientists at Moffitt are dedicated to discovering, translating, and delivering personalized cancer care through basic science, clinical, and translational research, as well as population studies.

Moffitt participates in more than 500 clinical trials in the areas of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Grant support totals more than $54 million with peer-reviewed grants representing more than $42 million of this total.

One of Moffitt's newest research initiatives will develop one of the largest tissue biorepositories and relational databases in the country. The result of this combined molecular profiling and clinical response database will be to improve cancer prevention and treatment by using molecular technology to enhance the ability to diagnose and treat patients.

Another Notable Program
In 1999, Moffitt developed the Affiliate Network Program, a professional partnership involving strategic affiliations with community physicians and health care facilities throughout Florida and beyond. With a mandate from the state to reach the citizens of Florida, Moffitt works with its partners to offer clinical expertise and research trials found only at an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. Moffitt reaches about 20 percent of the cancer patient population in Florida through these relationships.