Fox Chase Cancer Center at 50: Continuing to Discover and Deliver

On June 10, 1974, the leaders of the American Oncologic Hospital (AOH) and the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) signed an agreement that would unite the two institutions to form Fox Chase Cancer Center, making it one of the first centers nationally, and the first in Philadelphia, to receive the National Cancer Institute designation of Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The spark for Fox Chase’s founding came in December, 1971, when President Richard M. Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, thus launching the “war on cancer” and laying the groundwork for the foundation of Comprehensive Cancer Centers. That event brought cancer, a disease that until that time had been too often spoken of in fearful whispers, more into public consciousness.

The vision of the newly formed Fox Chase Cancer Center was to weave cancer research, treatment, and prevention together to develop a synthesis that would lead to more effective treatment and ensure that patients received the best care possible. Given the history of its preceding institutions, it is no surprise that discovery and delivery are ingrained in Fox Chase. 

The AOH was founded in 1904 as one of the nation’s first hospitals devoted exclusively to cancer care. Its charter read, in part, “a hospital for the study of the cause, treatment, and prevention of cancer and other tumors, and the dissemination of knowledge on these subjects; the treatment and care of persons affected with cancer and other tumors.”

Because cancer was so mysterious and misunderstood, it was soon recognized that a far more integrated effort in cancer research was required. In 1927, the Institute for Cancer Research was established to devote the full-time energy and resources of committed scientists to asking the most basic questions surrounding the biology of cancer and its treatments.

The merger of these two institutions yielded work that has changed science and the practice of medicine, as evidenced by hundreds of national and international awards, including two Nobel Prizes, one in Physiology and Medicine in 1976 and another in Chemistry in 2004.

Fifty years later, Fox Chase is not content to rest on its past accomplishments. Its spirit of teamwork, culture of innovation, and dedication to culturally competent care for its diverse patient populations drives its momentum for the future.

In 2012, Fox Chase joined Temple Health, and many of its key initiatives are in collaboration with Temple Health and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, which supports Fox Chase in significantly expanding its scope in research, treatment, and prevention programs. 

“It takes all of us – across campuses and specialties – offering insights that reflect vast expertise in various fields to effect positive change,” said Fox Chase President and CEO Robert Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS. “Each of us has a contribution to make, and when we join together, we can go further than any one of us can alone.”

Since 2012, Fox Chase and Temple have leveraged their independent strengths to broaden their mission and extend it to the benefit of their region’s most underserved and challenged communities. As part of Temple Health, Fox Chase has brought innovative cancer screening, trials, research, care, and support to attack the problem of healthcare disparities, while Temple has broadened Fox Chase’s academic, educational, and university- based assets. Working together, Fox Chase and Temple make each other stronger.

“Our task now is to steward the legacy of Fox Chase and build its exciting future with our colleagues at Temple,” said Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, Cancer Center Director. “We think of the many people who have contributed to our mission thus far, as well as the countless patients and families who we have cared for along the way. It is for all of them that we do the work we do — to conduct groundbreaking science, to provide the latest advances in cancer medicine, and to offer ourselves in the purest sense to bring about a new day for all.”

If the previous 50 years are any indication, additional decades of innovation in cancer discovery and delivery await Fox Chase.