SAN ANTONIO (September 29, 2014) — The Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio has achieved the renewal of an elite status — that of an NCI-designated cancer center — accompanied by a support grant that totals $9 million over the next five years.
“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of an NCI cancer center designation,” said CTRC director Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D. “The designation is a validation of the CTRC’s impact — in multidisciplinary care for our patients, in groundbreaking research and access to clinical trials, and in reducing the burden of cancer for San Antonio and South Texas.”
Marking the celebration, Dr. Thompson announced $2 million in major gifts from The Klesse Foundation and The Valero Energy Foundation in support of the recruitment of a nationally recognized scientist to lead the CTRC’s Cancer Prevention Program. These two exceptional gifts helped the CTRC exceed its $10 million annual fundraising goal and bring the year’s philanthropic total to an unprecedented $13.2 million.
“Bill and Margie Klesse and The Valero Energy Foundation are enabling us to continue to surpass our goals in making new discoveries and providing exceptional care, and we cannot thank them enough,” Dr. Thompson said.
“These votes of confidence from our own community are not only incredibly helpful for cancer prevention, research and care,” he said, “they are close to our hearts.”
The renewal and gift announcements highlight the CTRC’s 40th anniversary and continuing contributions to San Antonio and South Texas. The NCI designation is only available to cancer centers that have passed a rigorous peer review in multiple areas of accomplishment, and the CTRC is one of only four in Texas to have this designation, and the only one in South Texas.
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the elite academic cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only four in Texas. A leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer, the CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) conducts one of the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug programs in the world, and participates in development of cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.net.