Cooper University Health Care and MD Anderson Cancer Center Announce Partnership To Transform Cancer Care in the Region

CAMDEN, N.J., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper University Health Care and MD Anderson Cancer Center have signed a letter of intent to form a partnership that will provide cancer patients in the region with access to the most advanced cancer treatments available.

The institutions have agreed to create a joint Cooper-MD Anderson Cancer Center and co-branded centers in New Jersey. The partnership includes exclusivity for MD Anderson and Cooper in New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania for any future centers.

The impending partnership will provide patients across the region access to MD Anderson's world-renowned treatment protocols, extensive clinical trials, and cutting edge translational research.  The institutions plan to open their first jointly operated cancer center on Cooper's main campus in Camden, NJ, in October of this year.  They will also, in parallel, work together to expand the cancer center satellite hub on Cooper's suburban campus in Voorhees, NJ.  

"This groundbreaking partnership between MD Anderson and Cooper Cancer Institute will bring world-class treatment, care and research to New Jerseyans living with cancer," said Governor Chris Christie. "Through this collaboration, Cooper Cancer Institute will be able to expand its leading cancer treatment programs in New Jersey, providing hope and courage for our cancer patients and their families. I welcome MD Anderson to New Jersey and applaud their joint efforts with the Cooper Cancer Institute to defeat cancer."

MD Anderson, located in Houston, Texas, has been ranked as the No. 1 cancer hospital according to US News and World Report's "Best Hospitals" survey nine of the past 11 years.  By way of comparison, the other cancer centers in our region rank as follows, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (19), Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (20), Robert Wood Johnson (49), and Fox Chase Cancer Center (50).

MD Anderson also ranks first in the number of research grants awarded and total amount of grant funds given by the National Cancer Institute. In Fiscal Year 2012, more than 115,000 patients turned to the institution for cancer care. MD Anderson's mission is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research, prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.  

"This is an exciting step in formalizing our relationship with Cooper University Health Care," says Ronald DePinho, M.D., MD Anderson president.  "Partnerships help advance and sustain our mission to end cancer. We're proud to unite efforts with an organization equally committed to offering patients in the region the best possible cancer care."

Cooper University Health Care includes the 600-licensed bed Cooper University Hospital in Camden and has over 500 employed physicians. Cooper has over 100 outpatient offices throughout southern NJ and into Pennsylvania.  The Cooper Cancer Institute is one of the region's leading providers of outstanding cancer prevention, screening, diagnostic and treatment services.    

"This is a game changer for cancer care in our region," said George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board at Cooper. "We will combine the best cancer care in South Jersey with the number one cancer program in the country to foster a remarkable opportunity for patients and families of our region. The breadth of this cancer program will connect patients to an increased spectrum of cancer care far reaching on the East Coast."

Cooper and MD Anderson will open a new state-of-the-art freestanding cancer center this October on the Cooper Health Sciences Campus in Camden.  The $100 million, four-story, 103,050 sq. ft. building is designed to provide patients with one facility that houses all outpatient cancer care services in a multidisciplinary approach to oncology care. In the new building, physicians from various disciplines (medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, gynecologic oncology, and urology) will conduct concurrent, complementary clinical sessions, fostering professional interaction and collaboration.  Patients will get the benefit of easy access to advanced treatment technologies, groundbreaking clinical trials and a full range of supportive care services all in one location. In addition to the opening of the new cancer center in Camden, Cooper is expanding cancer services at Cooper – Voorhees, including the addition of a second linear accelerator and the installation of a permanent PET/CT scanner.

SOURCE Cooper University Health Care