Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

DEFINITION: The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a regional center for basic and clinical cancer research and treatment located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Founding and history: In 1947, Sidney Farber, a Harvard Medical School graduate of the class of 1928, founded the Children’s Cancer Research Foundation. Farber, a pathologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston (now Boston Children's Hospital), was interested in finding a cure for leukemia. He conducted early studies with children who were seriously ill with and, in 1948, published promising results in the New England Journal of Medicine. Funding for Farber’s research came from a charitable organization (the Variety Club of New England) comprised of entertainers who wanted to support a local scientist. In 1948, “Jimmy,” a young patient of Farber, was introduced on Truth or Consequences, a popular radio program. As a result of his appearance on the show, many contributions were made to support Farber’s research. The Variety Club’s patronage project was renamed the Jimmy Fund, a charity for children’s cancer research. The scope of the research foundation was widened in 1969 to include cancer research and treatment for patients of all ages, and the name of the institution was changed to the Sidney Farber Cancer Center (and later modified slightly to the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute) in honor of Farber, who died in 1973. An industrialist, Charles A. Dana, supported the Children’s Cancer Research Foundation with major grants beginning in 1962, and the institution was renamed the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 1983 to reflect his generous support.

Farber helped pioneer the concept of total care, believing that all patient and family services, such as clinical care, nutrition counseling, and social work, should be provided in one place. Further, he believed that decisions about a patient's care should be made by a team consisting of everyone involved in taking care of that patient. Through the years, the Farber family, including siblings and descendants of Sidney Farber, have been involved with the institute in roles such as members of the Board of Governors or in initiating new programs.

Facilities: The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and the program was one of seventy-two centers nationwide designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer care center in 2024. In 1996, the DFCI, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital formed the Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare system. Although Dana-Farber announced in 2023 that it would be breaking with Brigham and Women's upon expiration of their contract, the institution simultaneously announced a collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. With adult patient care provided at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, the treatment of pediatric cancer patients is provided through a collaboration between the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, the pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.

Services available through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute include cancer treatment centers for adults, specializing in blood cancers, breast cancer, cancer genetics and prevention, cutaneous (skin) cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, genitourinary cancer, gynecologic cancer, head and neck cancer, hematology, melanoma, neuro-oncology, sarcoma, and thoracic (lung) cancer. The Dana-Farber partnership with Boston Children's Hospital offers pediatric treatment centers and clinical services for blood disorders, brain tumors, hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and stem cell transplants. Additionally, the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center program recognizes the need to address potential late effects of pediatric cancers. It has several childhood cancer survivor programs for long-term follow-up of patients. Finally, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is involved in a wide range of community outreach programs and aims to reach underserved and marginalized groups.

Research: Research at Dana-Farber began in 1947 with Farber’s research on chemotherapy for children with cancer and continued in the twenty-first century under the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC). The DF/HCC comprises the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston’s Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard School of Public Health. As the twenty-first century progressed, research at the DF/HCC continued at several core facilities by more than a thousand researchers; the collaborative research programs have made significant contributions in areas such as basic cancer cell biology, genetic epidemiology, tumor immunology, and clinical/translational cancer research. Dana-Farber has not been without controversy, however. In 2024, it was forced to retract several published studies in medical journals due to faulty data from its researchers. 

Specialization: The bone marrow transplantation program is among the nation’s oldest. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Program is the most extensive in the eastern region of the United States. The David B. Perini Jr. Quality of Life Clinic at DFCI provides comprehensive follow-up for adult survivors of pediatric cancers. Also a member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium, Dana-Farber continued to revolutionize cancer care through various avenues, including, but not limited to, genetics and cancer, drug development, immunotherapy research, and personalized medicine. 

Bibliography

“About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.” Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, www.dana-farber.org/about. Accessed 12 June 2024.

"Dana-Farber Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Collaboration.” Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 2023, www.dana-farber.org/about/partners-affiliates/dana-farber-beth-israel-deaconess-cancer-collaboration. Accessed 7 July 2024.

“Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center.” Brigham and Women's Hospital, www.brighamandwomens.org/cancer. Accessed 7 July 2024.

Dollinger, M., et al. Everyone’s Guide to Cancer Therapy: How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day. 4th ed. McMeel, 2003.

Eyre, Harmon J., Dianne Partie Lange, and Lois B. Morris, editors. Informed Decisions: The Complete Book of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery. 2d ed. American Cancer Society, 2002.

Mueller, Benjamin. “Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Seeks to Retract Flawed Studies.” The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/health/dana-farber-cancer-studies-retractions.html. Accessed 7 July 2024.

“NCI-Designated Cancer Centers.” National Cancer Institute, 31 May 2024, www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers. Accessed 12 June 2024.

“Partners and Affiliates.” Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, www.dana-farber.org/about/partners-affiliates. Accessed 7 July 2024.

Wisnia, Saul. The Jimmy Fund of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Arcadia, 2002.