Cancer Program Recognized for
Quality, Innovation, and Excellence
The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) cancer program gained ground in the 2011-2012 U.S.
News & World Report annual Best Hospitals survey.
The #14 ranking is one position higher than the previous survey and keeps the UCMC as the #1 ranked cancer program in Illinois. The rankings are based on a mathematical formula that takes into account factors including expected mortality, actual mortality, technology, patient services, and patient volume.
The cancer program also earned a top accreditation from the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC). The 3-year accreditation with commendation symbolizes excellence, innovation, and a broad spectrum of cancer research and patient care services offered locally, nationally, and internationally.
“We are honored to receive such a high rating,” said UCCCC Director Michelle Le Beau, PhD. “For our patients, this means they can expect to receive quality, comprehensive care that includes a multidisciplinary team approach, a complete range of state-of-the-art services and treatments, and access to early detection programs, cancer education, and support services.”
Led by Kevin Roggin, MD, chair of the Cancer
Committee, and assisted by Cassie Simon, CTR,
assistant director of the UCCCC Cancer Registry,
the cancer program underwent an intensive, onsite
CoC survey in May 2011. As part of this triennial
process, members of the Cancer Committee
provided detailed information about their departmental
resources, policies, and processes that
ensure high-quality, multidisciplinary, cancer
care is available and provided to our patients.
Cancer Registry Provides
Vital Research Data
The Cancer Registry annually reviews more than
50,000 UCMC medical records to identify patients
diagnosed and/or treated for cancer or a benign
central nervous system neoplasm. A specialized
oncology database record is created for each
cancer patient that includes age, gender, disease-specific
characteristics, treatment, annual followup,
and outcomes. An abstract or “snapshot” is
created for each patient’s disease experience.
Throughout the year, the registry receives requests from physicians, researchers, administrators, and other medical staff for specific or aggregate data that will be used to improve patient care—whether it is to generate prevention strategies, to advance technologies for screening, diagnosis, and treatment, or to develop survivorship programs.
In the past fiscal year, the Cancer Registry fulfilled 60 data requests for projects including clinical research, health disparities research, outcomes research, cancer program development, grant proposals, and community outreach activities.
2010 UCMC Cancer Data
Cancer Incidence by Type
In 2010, 3,391 patients were diagnosed and/or
treated at the UCMC for a malignancy or benign
central nervous system neoplasm. (See Table 1)
Of these, 2,908 (86%) were newly diagnosed
patients and 483 (14%) had recurrent
or progressive disease. The most frequently
seen cancers were of the digestive system
(628), which includes colorectal cancer; male
genital system (568), which includes prostate
cancer; breast (346); respiratory system
(333), which includes lung cancer; and urinary
system (284), which includes kidney cancer.
Patient Demographics
More than half of all patients (1858, 54.8%)
were diagnosed with cancer between the ages
of 50 and 69 years. When reviewing the data
by gender, women tended to be diagnosed
at a younger age than men (50–59 years vs.
60–69 years respectively). (See Figure 1)
Distribution by gender (See Figure 2) reveals a higher number of male patients (1,849, 54.5%) than female patients (1,542, 45.5%), and distribution by race shows our patient population is predominately white (2,103 patients, 62%), followed by black (871 patients, 25.6%) and Hispanic (146 patients, 4.3%).
Patient Geographics
An analysis of a patient’s residence or county at
initial diagnosis (See Diagram 1) illustrates that a
majority of patients (2,671, 79%) seen in 2010 were
Illinois residents, with the highest number residing
in Cook County (1,740 patients, 65.1%) followed by
DuPage County (244 patients, 9.1%), Will County
(207 patients, 7.7%), Lake County (148 patients,
5.5%) and Kane County (59 patients, 2.2%).
Nearly one quarter (21%, 720 patients) of our total
cancer patient population lived outside of Illinois,
coming primarily from the neighboring states
of Indiana (550 patients, 76.3%), Michigan (56
patients, 7.7%), and Wisconsin (27 patients, 3.7%).
We also served 18 international patients from countries including Israel (4 patients), Mexico (3 patients), United Arab Emirates (3 patients), China (2 patients), Brazil (1 patient), Canada (1 patient), Panama (1 patient), Poland (1 patient), Romania (1 patient), and Saudi Arabia (1 patient).
2010 Cancer Cases by Site
Primary Site |
Newly |
Recurrent/ Progressive Disease |
Total |
% of Total Cases |
|
Digestive System |
563 |
65 |
628 |
18.5% |
|
Male Genital System |
496 |
72 |
568 |
16.8% |
|
Breast |
308 |
38 |
346 |
10.2% |
|
Respiratory System |
286 |
47 |
333 |
9.8% |
|
Urinary System |
242 |
42 |
284 |
8.4% |
|
Endocrine System* |
173 |
25 |
198 |
5.8% |
|
Female Genital System |
149 |
28 |
177 |
5.2% |
|
Oral Cavity & Pharynx |
127 |
34 |
161 |
4.7% |
|
Lymphoma |
112 |
26 |
138 |
4.1% |
|
Brain & Other Nervous System** |
99 |
20 |
119 |
3.5% |
|
Leukemia |
97 |
28 |
128 |
3.7% |
|
Miscellaneous*** |
59 |
10 |
69 |
2.0% |
|
Skin Excluding Basal & Squamous |
49 |
19 |
68 |
2.0% |
|
Myeloma |
43 |
5 |
48 |
1.4% |
|
Soft Tisue |
40 |
12 |
52 |
1.5% |
|
Mesothelioma |
40 |
7 |
47 |
1.4% |
|
Bones & Joints |
21 |
3 |
24 |
0.7% |
Kaposi Sarcoma |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0.1% |
Eye & Orbit |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0.1% |
Total Cases |
2,847 |
561 |
3,408 |
100% |
|
* Includes benign pituitary tumors
**Includes benign neoplasms
***Includes blood dyscrasias, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloproliferative disorders
