50 Years of Fox Chase Cancer Center

1974

The American Oncologic Hospital, which was founded in 1904, and the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR), which was founded in 1927, unite to form Fox Chase Cancer Center. This is done under the leadership of hospital President Edward J. Roach and Timothy R. Talbot Jr., MD, the Scientific Director of the ICR, who becomes the first president of Fox Chase. Later that year, Fox Chase becomes one of the first institutions to receive the elite designation Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Robert B. Perry, PhD, discovers that the messenger RNAs of mammalian cells and their precursors contain a novel structure at their leading ends.

1975

PREVENTION & CONTROL

Canscreen, the first low-cost individual screening program for the early detection of cancer, begins at Fox Chase.

The first transgenic mammals containing foreign DNA are produced by Beatrice Mintz, PhD, and Rudolf Jaenisch, PhD, a visiting fellow.

The laboratory of Beatrice Mintz, PhD, demonstrates that malignant mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells can undergo normal development if placed in a normal embryo environment. This led her to produce the first developmentally totipotent stem cell line and also to propose that induction of differentiation might cure some other malignancies.

1976

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to Baruch Blumberg, MD, PhD, for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus and development of the HBV vaccine, the first “anti-cancer vaccine,” which has reduced the incidence of liver cancer. Read more on Blumberg here »

Alfred G. Knudson Jr., MD, PhD, joins Fox Chase as Director of the Institute for Cancer Research. Five years earlier, studying a rare childhood tumor called retinoblastoma, he had formulated the widely acclaimed “two-hit” theory of cancer causation. Read more on Knudson here »

Construction of the Center Building is completed. Initially referred to as “the link” building because it connected the Institute for Cancer Research and the hospital, it provides a new auditorium and cafeteria where clinical and research staff can meet.

1979

Beatrice Mintz, PhD, shows that a fatal genetic anemia of mice can be prevented in utero by injecting normal blood-forming stem cells into the fetus through a placental blood vessel. Read more on Mintz here »

1980

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Melvin Bosma, PhD, and Gayle Bosma, MS, discover a mouse strain with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID). Since SCID mice have no natural immunity and cannot reject tissue transplants, they have become valuable research tools for studying many diseases, including cancer and HIV.

BASIC SCIENCE

Discovery by Robert B. Perry, PhD, of transcription at unrearranged immunoglobulin gene loci, which leads to formulation of a stochastic model to explain why only one immunoglobulin gene in a cell functions in antibody production.

Discovery of critical aspects of ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation by Irwin A. “Ernie” Rose, PhD, and Avram Hershko, MD, PhD, who was spending a sabbatical year at Fox Chase.

1981

The lab of Beatrice Mintz, PhD, is one of the first to introduce a cloned gene into fertilized mouse eggs and prove that it is retained in animals developing from those eggs and is transmitted to their progeny.

1982

John R. Durant, MD, begins his term as President of Fox Chase, creating an academic clinical research environment over the six years of his tenure.

1988

INSTITUTIONAL

Robert C. Young, MD, who served as head of the National Cancer Institute’s medicine branch and is internationally known for his work in the treatment of lymphoma and ovarian cancer, becomes President of Fox Chase.

1990

Responding to the rise in the need for outpatient care, Fox Chase builds a new facility, the West Building, to consolidate service for patients. 

1991

Fox Chase initiates its chemoprevention research program. At the time, the concept of treating healthy individuals to prevent cancer was not fully appreciated. 

PREVENTION & CONTROL

Mary Daly, MD, PhD, establishes Fox Chase’s first family risk-assessment program. Among the first of its kind in the country, the program offers genetic testing and counseling, as well as screening and follow-up.

The first description of pro-B/pre-B bone marrow B lineage fractionation by Richard “Randy” Hardy, PhD.

Timothy J. Yen, PhD, discovers that a molecular motor controls the way human cells sort their chromosomes when cells divide.

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Fox Chase scientists Joseph R. Testa, PhD, Philip Tsichlis, PhD, and Alfonso Bellacosa, MD, PhD, identify a major driver of cancer development: the protein AKT, which hinders the process that kills abnormal cancer cells. Many potential targets for future anti-cancer drugs are discovered based on this work.

1992

BASIC SCIENCE

Christoph Seeger, PhD, describes the mechanism of priming of reverse transcription by hepadnaviruses and uncovers a role for viral RNA in folding the active polymerase protein.

1993

A founding gift from the board of directors establishes Fox Chase’s first endowed chair, The Stanley P. Reimann Endowed Chair in Oncology Research. Today, the center has 20 endowed chairs honoring leaders in science, medicine, and prevention.

Beatrice Mintz, PhD, produces the first mouse model of human malignant melanoma in which the disease resembles the human malignancy.

Raymond S.W. Yeung, MD, FRCS, FACS, who was a Fox Chase fellow at the time, and Alfred Knudson, MD, PhD, discover that a TSC2 mutation causes inherited renal cell carcinoma in the Eker rat.

1995

BASIC SCIENCE

Molecular biologist Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, who later becomes Cancer Center Director, and his lab at Fox Chase discover and characterize MST1 and MST2, enzymes that suppress cell proliferation and survival. 

1996

To capitalize on new opportunities in genetics and molecular biology and to accommodate expanding research programs, Fox Chase launches the Prevention Campaign, which raises $39 million.

1998

Development of ultra-rapid mixing methods, which allow the first direct observation of protein chain collapse during initial stages of folding, by Heinrich Roder, PhD.

Anthony Yeung, PhD, discovers and characterizes the CEL 1 nuclease, which is subsequently used widely for the detection of mutations.

1999

BASIC SCIENCE

The laboratory of Anna Marie “Ann” Skalka, PhD, shows that a host-encoded protein, the DNA-dependent protein kinase, is required for retroviral integration into the host genome, providing the first evidence that this process is detected as DNA damage by the host cell. Read more on Skalka here »

Kyoko Hayakawa, MD, PhD, shows that the B-1 class of antibody-producing B-cells undergoes positive selection during their development.

Timothy J. Yen, PhD, discovers that mitotic checkpoint proteins provide new insights into how cancer cells develop chromosome imbalances.

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Dietmar J. Kappes, PhD, discovers a mouse with a mutation in a master regulator gene controlling T cell fate. He later identifies the gene as ThPOK and shows that its dysregulation causes lymphoid transformation, a significant finding because it linked how cells develop with how cancers develop. 

2000

CLINICAL

Fox Chase became the first hospital in Pennsylvania and the first specialty hospital in the United States to achieve the American Nurses Association Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. In 2023, it received the designation for a sixth consecutive time.

2001

Kenneth S. Zaret, PhD, demonstrates that, apart from their role in transporting blood and oxygen, blood vessel cells provide an essential growth signal for developing tissues.

John M. Taylor, PhD, and Luis Sigal, DVM, PhD, collaborate to establish the first mouse model system to study replication of the hepatitis delta virus. 

2002

Kenneth S. Zaret, PhD, shows that a specific gene regulatory protein can open up a part of a chromosome that is closed to other regulators of gene expression, providing a model for how genes are activated in development.

Joseph R. Testa, PhD, and Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, show that p21-activated kinases inactivate the tumor suppressor NF2.

2003

BASIC SCIENCE

Eileen K. Jaffe, PhD, discovers the role of quaternary structure isoforms in regulating protein function.

Heinrich Roder, PhD, solves the structure of a pathogenic fragment from the human prion protein, providing a framework for understanding its conversion to an infectious, neurotoxic fibrillar form.

Peter Adams, PhD, shows that defects in chromatin assembly during S-phase can contribute to genomic instability, a hallmark and potential driving force of human cancer.

2004

Maureen Murphy, PhD, elucidates the mechanism whereby the p53 tumor suppressor protein induces programmed cell death.

Roland Dunbrack, PhD, is selected as the assessor for the international protein structure prediction competition (CASP6) based on his seminal contributions to this field.

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Irwin A. “Ernie” Rose, PhD, and his colleagues Aaron Ciechanover, PhD, and Avram Hershko, MD, PhD, for their discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. Read more on Rose here »

The Kyoto Prize in Basic Science is awarded to Alfred Knudson Jr., MD, PhD, for lifetime achievement and contributions to the betterment of mankind.

2005

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Joseph Testa, PhD, describes the first mouse model that faithfully recapitulates molecular features of human malignant mesothelioma.

Erica Golemis, PhD, shows that a focal adhesion scaffolding protein is required for activation of a specific proto-oncogene, showing how cell structure can affect proliferation, an interaction that is critical for metastasis. 

Studies by Kenneth S. Zaret, PhD, on the derivation of embryonic liver cells provide new insight into the basis of liver differentiation, regeneration, and cancer. 

2007

INSTITUTIONAL

Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Chase. Over his tenure, Seiden advances translational research efforts and weathers fiscal challenges related to the global recession.

CLINICAL

Erica Golemis, PhD, discovers that a signaling circuit involving two proteins can dismantle cilia, antenna-like structures on cells that detect signals controlling cell growth, contributing to malignant changes that lead to cancer. 

2009

The culmination of 20 years of leadership in the field, Fox Chase opens the region’s first comprehensive Women’s Cancer Center. The center brings together leading oncologists in breast and gynecologic cancers to provide women with state-of-the-art care and support.

Fox Chase concludes its Centennial Campaign, begun in 2003. Donors contribute more than $115 million to support research, clinical care, and new facilities.

2010

INSTITUTIONAL

The Robert C. Young, MD, Pavilion, opens. It subsumes the former Cancer Prevention Pavilion and adds 116,000 square feet of new space, making the building the largest on the Fox Chase campus.

To improve the patient experience, Fox Chase launches its Nurse Navigation program. Within five years, the program expands to include 16 navigators in 10 disease areas and serves as an example for healthcare institutions nationally.

2011

In a first-of-its-kind effort, Fox Chase scientist Jeffrey R. Peterson, PhD, and colleagues cross-index the activity of 180 kinase inhibitors against more than 300 kinases, yielding valuable information on which inhibitors block which kinases. 

BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Research by geneticist Alfonso Bellacosa, MD, PhD, reveals that a protein called TDG affects the process of demethylation, which reactivates genes that, when silenced, may lead to cancer. The discovery broke open the possibility of developing a more targeted type of cancer therapy.

Geneticist Joseph R. Testa, PhD, and colleagues find that inherited mutations of the BAP1 tumor suppressor gene predispose affected families to the development of mesothelioma and other cancers such as melanoma, meningioma, as well as kidney, breast, and basal cell carcinoma. 

2012

INSTITUTIONAL

In an historic affiliation, Fox Chase becomes a member of Temple Health. Its position as a member of a major multi-affiliate health system gives Fox Chase the opportunity to expand clinical programs and offer more services to patients, especially in underserved areas.

Immunologist David L. Wiest, PhD, and colleagues find that mutations in a ribosomal protein called L22 hasten the development of lymphoma. The discovery provides a target for the creation of new treatments for lymphoma and other blood cancers.

2013

INSTITUTIONAL

Richard I. Fisher, MD, takes the helm as President and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Chase. Within two years of his tenure, the center’s financial health makes a dramatic improvement.

2014

CLINICAL

“Ask me about clinical trials” is the call-to-action of Fox Chase’s Be the Breakthrough campaign, which encourages clinical trial education, awareness, and participation. In less than six months, clinical trial participation increases by 50%.

2015

Founded in 1965 from the former Anna M. Gray Auxiliary, Fox Chase’s Board of Associates celebrates its 50th anniversary. Over these five decades the board raised more than $22 million for research and patient care.

2016

INSTITUTIONAL

Temple Health hosts a ribbon cutting for a new Fox Chase Cancer Center-Temple University Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Outpatient Clinic. The program boasts prestigious distinctions and accreditations for exceptional patient care and research.

Fox Chase hosts the Cancer Moonshot Summit for Region 3, which includes Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

2017

The laboratory of Margie Clapper, PhD, publishes research on a new link between estrogen and lung cancer among never-smokers and smokers. The study is the first to demonstrate the ability of the human lung to convert the hormone into numerous metabolites.

Philanthropist Concetta “Chet” Greenberg makes a transformational gift, the largest single donation to Fox Chase until that time, to create The Marvin and Concetta Greenberg Pancreatic Cancer Institute.

PREVENTION & CONTROL

Camille Ragin, PhD, MPH, establishes the Cancer Prevention Project of Philadelphia (CAP3), a multicultural, community-based cancer prevention registry that becomes instrumental in developing a model for population-based health disparities studies.

2020

Temple Health commits to spending $100 million over five years at Fox Chase for capital investments that will focus on upgrading ICU facilities and creating private patient rooms, projects that will further enhance the inpatient experience.

Fox Chase is awarded a grant through the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to fund a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) for Head and Neck Cancer. 

BASIC SCIENCE

Siddharth Balachandran, PhD, publishes milestone research that clarifies a fundamental host defense mechanism that detects the presence of influenza virus and rapidly destroys infected cells. The findings have exciting implications for a variety of fields.

2021

Fox Chase launches the Cancer Epigenetics Institute to create a locally based national hub for epigenetics study and collaboration focused on mechanisms promoting cancer and therapeutic resistance.

The Marvin and Concetta Greenberg Pancreatic Cancer Institute was renewed as a Clinical Center of Excellence and named for the first time as an Academic Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer by the National Pancreas Foundation. 

2022

INSTITUTIONAL

Robert Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS, who is lauded as an internationally recognized urologic cancer surgeon and researcher, is named President and CEO of Fox Chase.

PREVENTION & CONTROL

Fox Chase is awarded a grant for $6 million over the course of five years to develop a new Cancer Prevention-Interception Targeted Agent Discovery Program to establish a pipeline for the discovery of new cancer prevention agents.

2023

Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple Health launch the Fox Chase-Temple Urologic Institute, a groundbreaking initiative that concentrates on both benign and oncologic urology. 

CLINICAL

Fox Chase begins offering cone-beam computed tomography-based adaptive radiation therapy, a cutting-edge technique that allows a patient’s radiation treatment to be adjusted in real time to accommodate changes in the body.

2024

Fox Chase Cancer Center celebrates its 50th anniversary! In addition, five decades after its founding as one of the first institutions to receive the National Cancer Institute’s elite designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, Fox Chase receives this designation once again.