Perlmutter Earns NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center Designation

Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has designated NYU Langone Health’s Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest rank awarded by the NCI. Perlmutter joins an elite group of 50 cancer centers across the country that have earned this distinction.

Comprehensive Cancer Centers are recognized for the depth and breadth of their basic science and clinical research and the education and training of healthcare providers. For patients, the designation identifies facilities with state-of-the-art, research-based approaches to preventing, detecting, and treating cancer.

“This prestigious designation from NCI is a testament to the great strides we have made at Perlmutter Cancer Center,” Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and chief executive officer of NYU Langone Health, said in a news release. “It also reaffirms our mission to provide all of our patients the highest level of care and the opportunity to take advantage of the latest scientific discoveries.”

To earn the designation, Perlmutter had to demonstrate success in conducting basic laboratory, translational, and clinical research; developing and offering the most advanced therapies and innovative clinical trials; and studying the prevention, patterns, causes, and control of cancer in diverse populations. Comprehensive centers must also serve as high-level teaching facilities for cancer researchers and clinicians.

Perlmutter won the designation after a rigorous evaluation process that including the submission of a written grant and a site visit conducted by more than 2 dozen scientists from peer institutions.

The facility received an overall “outstanding” rating on the competitive renewal of its Cancer Center Support Grant. The grant will provide nearly $20 million in new funding for research programs, infrastructure, and technology, a 51% increase from the previous award. This grant, funded by the National Institutes of Health, goes to NCI-designated cancers that are expected to serve as major sources of discovery of the nature of cancer and of the development of more-effective approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and therapy.

These facilities must contribute “significantly” to the development of shared resources that support research, collaborate and coordinate research efforts with other NCI-funded programs and investigators, and disseminate study results for the benefit of the community.

“Over the past several years, NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center has renewed and expanded its commitment to advancing cancer care and, in doing so, has achieved many important milestones, including strengthening our faculty, broadening our research portfolio, particularly in clinical and translational research, and improving patient care and quality standards,” Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of Perlmutter Cancer Center,” said in a news release.

Over the past 5 years, Perlmutter has experienced a 110% increase in new patients, more than doubled the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials, and recruited more than 20 nationally and internationally renowned faculty members to leadership positions.