M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

DEFINITION: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is an academic and patient care facility in the Texas Medical Center in Houston and part of the University of Texas system of academic institutions. The center’s mission statement is “to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.” M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is one of seventy-two comprehensive cancer centers in the United States as designated by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. It is also one of thirty-three member institutions that make up the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a nonprofit consortium of patient care facilities dedicated to improving the quality of cancer care.

History: Munroe Dunaway Anderson, a wealthy banker and cotton merchant, created a sizable charitable foundation several years before his death that would eventually fund the cancer hospital bearing his name along with other institutions within the Texas Medical Center. In 1941, the Texas state legislature appropriated $500,000 to create a center for cancer research and treatment within the University of Texas system. Funded initially as the Texas State Cancer Hospital and the Division of Cancer Research, the institution was renamed the following year after the trustees of the M. D. Anderson Foundation proposed matching the state’s grant to launch the center on the condition that the institute would be located in Houston. Biomedical research at the new institution commenced in 1943, and patient care services began the following year. By 2024, M. D. Anderson employed more than 24,498 faculty and staff, and its annual operating budget was billions of dollars.

Patient care: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center’s patient care resources include 760 inpatient beds, an emergency center, and numerous outpatient clinics organized primarily by specialty. In 2023, M. D. Anderson provided care to over 180,000 patients. In addition to its services for patients with known cancers, the facility also operates a cancer prevention clinic that offers diagnostic evaluation, risk assessment, genetic testing, and counseling in risk reduction and preventive medicine. Most patient care activities are conducted on the main campus within the Texas Medical Center, although M. D. Anderson also coordinates care in several satellite clinics in the Houston metropolitan area.

M. D. Anderson patients have access to support services to accompany their treatment, including patient education classes, a resource library, psychosocial and pastoral care services, and complementary therapies such as nutritional counseling and massage. For patients who have completed treatment, M. D. Anderson operates a rehabilitation program and a medical clinic for long-term follow-up. Several patient services unrelated to health are provided for patient comfort and convenience, such as an onsite hotel, a travel agency, and activities for patients and family members.

Research: In 2023, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center spent approximately $1.2 billion on medical research. The center has been consistently among the top recipients of research grants from the National Cancer Institute. Of note, the institution houses ten National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence focusing on leukemia, melanoma, and cancers of the bladder, breast, endometrium, head and neck, lung, ovary, pancreas, and prostate.

Research at the center is organized within several divisions, subdivided into more focal research areas. For example, the Division of Basic Research houses scientific programs in areas such as cancer genetics, biomedical engineering, and immunology. Other divisions are organized according to clinical specialty, such as medicine, surgery, imaging, and prevention science. Research efforts are closely integrated with patient care services. Accordingly, M. D. Anderson houses the largest clinical trial program of any cancer center in the United States. In 2023, more than 9,606 of the center’s patients participated in clinical trials.

In the mid-2020s, research efforts at M. D. Anderson continued to contribute to cancer diagnosis and treatment. Novel therapies for treating rare cancers and identifying biomarkers for pancreatic, appendix, and lung cancers were two such efforts announced by the center in April 2024. The discovery of a therapeutic target for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and combination treatments for AML, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia were advances made by M. D. Anderson in the diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers.

Education: Through supervised rotations, residencies, and fellowships, M. D. Anderson offers clinical training to medical students, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals. More recently, the center began offering undergraduate degrees and certificates in several allied health professions through its School of Health Sciences. Baccalaureate degrees and certificates are granted in clinical laboratory science, cytogenetic technology, cytotechnology, diagnostic imaging, histotechnology, medical dosimetry, molecular genetic technology, and radiation therapy.

M. D. Anderson offers formal research training, primarily for graduate and postdoctoral students. The center contributes to graduate-level research training programs in health sciences as a partner within the multi-institutional University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The graduate school awards master’s and doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines, including basic sciences such as cell biology and genetics and applied sciences such as medical physics and pathology. 

Bibliography

Elliott, Frederick C. The Birth of the Texas Medical Center: A Personal Account. College Station: Texas A&M UP, 2004.

“FY23 Quick Facts.” MD Anderson Cancer Center, 31 Jan. 2024, www.mdanderson.org/documents/about-md-anderson/about-us/facts-and-history/quick-facts.pdf. Accessed 7 July 2024.

“Institutional Profile.” MD Anderson Cancer Center, www.mdanderson.org/about-md-anderson/facts-history/institutional-profile.html. Accessed 7 July 2024.

M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. The First Twenty Years of the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston: Author, 1964.

“NCI-Designated Cancer Centers.” National Cancer Institute, 31 May 2024, www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers. Accessed 7 July 2024.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network - Home, www.nccn.org. Accessed 7 July 2024.

Navone, Nora. “MD Anderson Research Highlights for April 24, 2024.” MD Anderson Cancer Center, 24 Apr. 2024, www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/advances-rare-cancers-biomarkers-pancreatic-lung-cancers-new-source-studying-prostate-cancer-therapeutic-target-AML.h00-159696756.html. Accessed 7 July 2024.

Rodriguez, M. Alma, Ronald S. Walters, and Thomas W. Burke. 60 Years of Survival Outcomes at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. New York: Springer, 2013.

Slaga, Thomas J. “Fifty Years of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Study of Carcinogenesis.” Molecular Carcinogenesis, vol. 4.6, 1991, pp. 417–18.

“University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX - Rankings & Ratings.” US News Health, health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/tx/university-of-texas-md-anderson-cancer-center-6741945. Accessed 7 July 2024.