Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center
The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University is a prominent university-based cancer care facility located in Chicago. Established in 1974 and named in honor of Robert H. Lurie, who battled advanced colon cancer, the center reflects a commitment to both cancer research and patient care. The center is affiliated with Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and includes basic science research labs and partnerships with four teaching hospitals, providing a comprehensive approach to oncology.
The cancer center hosts various specialized divisions, such as Hematology/Oncology and Gynecology Oncology, and features an outpatient clinical center that opened in 2003. It offers diagnostic and treatment services, as well as access to clinical trials, emphasizing innovative research and patient care. Research at the center includes a Basic Sciences Division, focusing on areas like tumor biology and cancer prevention, and specialized programs in breast and prostate cancer, supported by the National Cancer Institute. The center is also known for its pediatric oncology program and unique palliative care services, demonstrating a holistic approach to cancer treatment for diverse patient needs.
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Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center
DEFINITION: The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University is a university-based comprehensive cancer center located in Chicago. The Feinberg School of Medicine on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus, basic science research labs at both the Chicago and Evanston campuses, and four affiliated teaching hospitals are integrated to provide state-of-the-art cancer care.
Founding and history: The Cancer Center was established at Northwestern University in 1974. In 1991, the Cancer Center was dedicated as the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center of Northwestern University, and in 1997, the name was changed to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, reflecting the designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive cancer center. In 1987, Robert H. Lurie, for whom the center is named, began treatment for advanced colon cancer at the center. Lurie was forty-six years old at the time of his diagnosis, and he was at the peak of a successful career in real estate. Lurie exemplified an individual who believed in living life to the fullest and not giving in to his illness. Before he died in 1990, Robert Lurie and his wife, Ann, determined they would endow the center to further cancer research. The decision to use Robert Lurie’s name for the center reflects that individual’s tenacious battle with cancer. It is meant to symbolize the center’s dedication to the research and treatment of individuals dealing with cancer. Ann Lurie has continued her involvement in the cause of cancer research and treatment; in addition to the endowment of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, she made a gift to Children’s Memorial Hospital to establish a medical center for the care of children and for pediatric research initiatives, upon which the facility renamed itself the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in 2012.
Facilities: An outpatient clinical cancer center in downtown Chicago, the collaboration of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, was opened in 2003. All physicians at the cancer center are faculty of the Feinberg School of Medicine. The cancer center provides oncology diagnostic and treatment services and patient access to clinical trials. The Division of Hematology/Oncology (for cancers and disorders of the blood), the Division of Surgical Oncology (for cancers of skin, breast, and the gastrointestinal system), and the Division of Gynecology Oncology (for cancers of the female reproductive system) are housed in the cancer center.
Clinical inpatient treatment and clinical research is conducted at the teaching hospitals affiliated with the Feinberg School of Medicine. The hospitals included are Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), the Jesse Brown Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Research: Basic science research laboratories for the cancer center are on the Evanston, Illinois, campus of Northwestern University. The three divisions of the research center are the Basic Sciences Division, the Clinical Sciences Division, and the Cancer Prevention and Control Division. The Basic Sciences Division has research programs in viral oncogenesis; tumor invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis (TIMA); hormone action and signal transduction in cancer; cancer genes and molecular targeting; and cancer cell biology. The Clinical Sciences Division has breast cancer, prostate cancer, and hematologic malignancies research programs. The Cancer Prevention and Control Division researches the preventive themes of epidemiology, chemoprevention, biomarkers and early detection, and behavioral science and the cancer control themes of the costs and patterns of oncology treatments, measurement, analysis and interpretation of quality of life, and palliative and rehabilitation oncology.
A collaboration of the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center and Northwestern University’s International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (NU-CCNE) was established in 2005. This center is funded by the NCI. The NU-CCNE includes scientists, cancer biologists, engineers, and clinicians working together toward the research goal of designing and testing nanotechnology for application of clinical care for cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Clinical research is conducted in the inpatient and outpatient facilities of the cancer center, with access to clinical trials. In the twenty-first century, the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center has made strides in research into bladder cancer biomarkers, glioblastoma treatments, and central nervous system tumors.
Specialization: Two Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Breast Cancer SPORE and the Prostate Cancer SPORE, are supported by the National Cancer Institute. The cancer center has a program for stem cell transplantation and is known for its research in hematologic malignancies. The Genetic Testing and Counseling Services provide a full range of genetic counseling, testing, screening, and research. The pediatric oncology program includes specialists in the treatment of children with leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors, and other solid tumors. The study of rate cancers is also a specialization. A unique palliative care program is offered at the cancer center; the program includes consultation services, an acute inpatient palliative care unit, and a home hospice program.
Bibliography
“About Lurie Cancer Center: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University : Feinberg School of Medicine.” Lurie Cancer Center, www.cancer.northwestern.edu/about/about-lurie/index.html. Accessed 7 July 2024.
Ko, Andrew, Ernest Rosenbaum, and Malin Dollinger. Everyone’s Guide to Cancer Therapy: How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day, 5th ed., Kansas City: Andrews, 2008.
Leonard, John P., and Morton Coleman, editors. Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. New York: Springer, 2006.
“News and Breakthroughs: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University: Feinberg School of Medicine.” Lurie Cancer Center, 2024, www.cancer.northwestern.edu/news/index.html. Accessed 7 July 2024.
“Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.” National Cancer Institute, 29 June 2021, www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers/find/northwesternlurie. Accessed 7 July 2024.
Waller, Alexander, and Nancy L. Caroline. Handbook of Palliative Care in Cancer. 2d ed., Boston: Butterworth, 2000.
“Who We Are.” Lurie Children's, www.luriechildrens.org/en/who-we-are. Accessed 7 July 2024.