What is the importance of “Comprehensive” in the title?
In 1971, Richard Nixon signed The National Cancer Act. It provided the groundwork for the creation of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and created the designation of “comprehensive cancer centers” to identify those facilities that provided the most advanced cancer care, research and education based on stringent peer-reviewed data. The UAB Cancer Center was named one of the first 11 comprehensive cancer centers. Today, there are a total of 41 nationwide; UAB is the only comprehensive center in Alabama as well as within a five-state region. For a comprehensive designation to be renewed, as UAB’s has been for more than 35 years, an institution must pass a rigorous review process.
