Page Updated May 31, 2024

UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

The UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only comprehensive cancer center in North Texas. Created to become one of the nation’s premier institutions for state-of-the-art treatment and innovative cancer research, the facility has met that goal and surpassed it: today it is ranked as one of the top twenty cancer treatment facilities in the country by U.S. News & World Report.[1] 

The facility treats patients with all types of cancer and is one of the few in the nation to offer both cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and a program dedicated exclusively to the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Facts about the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

The UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only comprehensive cancer center in North Texas.

The center received a top 20 ranking for its cancer care from U.S. News & World Report

UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center provides over a dozen major cancer care programs that advance the treatment and prevention of cancer through innovative therapies, leading-edge clinical trials, and the latest technology.

The center receives $27.8 million in NCI direct cost funding and $76.5 million in peer-reviewed direct cost funding.

There are 304 active clinical trials underway, including a trial focused on treatments for malignant mesothelioma.

History

The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is an important part of UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the country. Originally founded as the Southwestern Medical Foundation in 1939 to support medical education and research in the Dallas area, the Foundation formally established Southwestern Medical School in 1943 as a small wartime medical college. After the war, the foundation offered the college’s equipment, library, and funds to the University of Texas if the school would locate its new medical branch in Dallas. This offer was accepted and in 1949 the facility was renamed the Southwestern Medical School of the University of Texas and was renamed University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1954.[3]

In 1972 the facility’s name and scope changed again as it was reorganized into The University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas.  It was at this point that medical, graduate, and undergraduate components were separated but coordinated. In 1986 a research facility opened on campus, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and in 1987 the name of the health science center was changed again to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.[3]

That same year, Dallas businessman Harold C. Simmons and his wife Annette committed $41 million to transform cancer research and care at UT Southwestern. The Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center was established in 1991, and in 2005 the Simmons committed an additional $50 million to ensure that the center could achieve even greater steps in clinical and research programs. In 2010 the center attained National Cancer Institute designation as a top-tier U.S. cancer center, and in 2014 it was among 30 U.S. cancer research centers named a National Clinical Trials Network Lead Academic Participating Site. In 2015 the center achieved NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center status, and in 2020 it joined the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.[4]

Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Care at UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

As one of the few facilities in the country with a program dedicated to both malignant pleural mesothelioma and the treatment of peritoneal malignancies, UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is leading the way in discovering new treatments and offering patients access to an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to accurately diagnosing, staging, and treating the rare asbestos-related disease.[2]

UT Southwestern was the lead center for a national chemotherapy clinical trial specific to mesothelioma treatment, and the specialists within the Mesothelioma Program collaborate at weekly cancer conferences where each patient’s case is discussed to ensure that the most effective approach is being taken. Treatment plans are tailored to each patient’s specific condition and goals.

Diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma is accomplished using several different techniques, including chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI, Positron Emission Tomography, and endoscopic ultrasonography. Additional testing using biopsies is also used to identify the specific cellular type of the patient’s cancer cells.

Treatment options for pleural mesothelioma include minimally invasive interventional surgeries including pleural decortication which preserves the lung, and extrapleural pneumonectomy. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also used, as well as a sophisticated treatment called Intensity-modulated Radiation therapy, which uses multiple radiation beams at varying lengths and intensities.[2]

Patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma have access to surgeons skilled in cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. This procedure has been effective in prolonging survival and improving quality of life.

Research

The University of Texas Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is a national leader in research and an incubator for cancer discovery. Many of the center’s scientists are working towards four main initiatives — Cancer Immunology, Cancer Metabolism, Pancreas Cancer, and Health Care Delivery Research — but the lab research, clinical research, and population-based research reach into all areas of translational cancer research. Among the center’s most notable initiatives are its experimental therapeutics program; understanding the developmental and evolutionary processes fundamental to cancer cell growth, division, and differentiation; and developing novel cancer treatment therapies.[1]

Notable Staff and Mesothelioma Specialists

UT Southwestern has assembled a team of experts in thoracic and peritoneal cancers to provide mesothelioma and lung cancer patients with a wide range of options and the best possible outcomes. Its specialists include thoracic and surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, internists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists dedicated to providing quick diagnosis and effective treatment of these challenging diseases.[2] 

The notable team includes surgical oncologist Dr. Patricio Polanco, who offers expertise in cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, and thoracic surgeons Dr. Scott Reznik, Dr. John Waters, and Dr. David B. Nelson, and Dr. Kemp Kernstine. Medical oncologists offering compassionate care and novel therapies include Dr. Sheena Bhalla, Dr. Hsienchang Chiu, Dr. Jonathan Dowell, and Dr. David Gerber.

UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center delivers state-of-the-art treatment options, innovative research, and access to clinical trials for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.