Cancer affects patients and communities nationwide — and the need for advanced, life-extending therapies is growing. City of Hope, a leading cancer research and treatment institution, is meeting the challenge.
As a trailblazer in cancer care, City of Hope recently launched a national clinical trials network. This spoke-and-hub model centralizes research leadership and enables participating sites to conduct studies simultaneously, bringing more than 700 clinical trials annually closer to patients in communities across the nation. The goal is to make leading-edge care accessible to more patients at a faster pace.
“Our North Star is to offer all our patients, regardless of where they live, the opportunity to participate in clinical trials, which provide them with promising new treatment options long before they become the standard of care,” says Edward S. Kim, M.D., M.B.A., deputy physician-in-chief for City of Hope National Medical Center and system director for the Clinical Trials Office.
Increasing Access: The Urgency of Now
According to national data, doctors will identify roughly 2.1 million new cancer cases this year. Many cases will be in people under 50, highlighting the need for better detection methods and more innovative treatments.
At the same time, five-year cancer survival rates are at an all-time high. Today, 7 out of 10 people celebrate their five-year diagnosis anniversaries. City of Hope is a driving force behind these improvements in cancer diagnosis and care. Screening based on genetic and environmental factors alerts patients to their risk of developing certain cancers. But City of Hope is taking these efforts further. Through its Center for Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Monitoring, multidisciplinary investigations are underway to create novel technologies that reveal disease years before conventional diagnostic methods.
The clinical trials network and new partnerships with City of Hope Cancer Centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix gather valuable clinical information. These new endeavors bring novel, life-extending care to patients with cancer in underserved communities.
Atlanta
In rural West Central Georgia, a City of Hope partnership with Upson Regional Medical Center gives patients access to comprehensive cancer care closer to home. Patients now have access to chemotherapy and specialized transplant services through City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta.
Chicago
City of Hope partners with Humboldt Park Health to deliver preventive screening and multidisciplinary oncology care to underserved communities on Chicago’s West Side.
Los Angeles
A mobile mammography clinic travels to Los Angeles workplaces, making access to breast cancer screening possible with limited or no time away from work. Another recent partnership with University of California, Los Angeles, extends free mammography services to unhoused female residents at Union Rescue Mission in the Skid Row neighborhood, removing barriers to care and providing needed follow-up.
Personalized Treatment With a Compassionate Touch
While City of Hope’s physician-researchers are dedicated to expanding access, they’re equally committed to delivering whole-person care. It’s an approach that ensures patients feel seen and heard during treatment.
Calvin “Otis” Hitchcock, a firefighter who came to City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta for a second opinion, says that focus fundamentally changed his cancer outcome. After a misdiagnosis elsewhere, the specialized care team at City of Hope examined Hitchcock’s clinical factors to identify his lymphoma and design a personalized treatment plan.
“Not only did City of Hope have the expertise to give me the right diagnosis, but for the first time, I felt really listened to,” Hitchcock says. “They didn’t just treat my cancer — they treated me like a person first.”
Dr. Kim says this patient-first method sets City of Hope apart. By evaluating individual cancers, the hospital is creating a new standard of care rooted in therapies tailored to a patient’s genetics.
“It’s important that anyone diagnosed with cancer gets a genomic or molecular profile. Each one of these cancers has its own genetic makeup. We’re finding unique mutations, allowing us to treat patients with a pill or targeted therapy,” he says. “That’s really changed the survival rates. We’re able to keep people alive for longer.”
The Impact of Investing in Life-Changing Research
Cancer affects nearly 2 million people every year. Every dollar invested in cancer research goes toward developing and disseminating forward-thinking treatment options. From supporting genetic analyses that lead to targeted immunotherapies to funding clinical trials that test artificial intelligence technologies for early detection, philanthropic giving fuels City of Hope’s innovation engine.
By expanding access to care and increasing the availability of leading-edge treatments, City of Hope — and its donors — strengthen that commitment to build stronger, healthier communities nationwide.
FAQ
- City of Hope operates one of the largest clinical trial programs in the country.
- The new City of Hope national clinical trial network expands patient access to more than 700 ongoing clinical trials annually.
- City of Hope can now open clinical trials across its national network, which includes five major cancer centers and 30+ clinical sites across four states.
- New partnerships in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix bring life-extending services and treatments to underserved communities.
- City of Hope’s personalized approach to diagnosis and treatment planning is creating a new standard of care.