The only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in metro Detroit, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute is part of Detroit-based McLaren Health Care and partners with Wayne State University School of Medicine on more than 700 cancer-specific research programs annually. In fiscal year 2025, Karmanos treated 15,754 new cancer cases. This represents a 47% increase from the 10,670 cases it treated in 2020, growth fueled by more than $60 million in annual research spending and nearly 128,000 square feet of new and expanded clinical space added systemwide, including the $48 million expansion of the Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills, Mich. Between 2020 and October 2025, the institute opened 609 clinical trials and enrolled more than 2,700 patients, while its clinical trials office cut median trial activation time by 38%, to 86 days, beating the NCI’s 90-day benchmark. Karmanos has notched several firsts, including the FDA-approved TheraBionic P-1 device for liver cancer, lifileucel tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for metastatic melanoma in Michigan, and status as the first freestanding cancer center in the nation to offer Hemgenix gene therapy for hemophilia B. Its AI-powered breast cancer risk program has screened more than 62,000 patients, identifying roughly one in eight as elevated risk, and its specialty pharmacy has delivered copay reductions of up to 95% for patients. The institute received more than $72 million in extramural peer-reviewed funding between fiscal years 2020 and 2025, including over $10 million from the NCI, and in 2026 was named one of “America’s Best Hospitals for Cancer Care” by the Women’s Choice Award. Since 2023, Karmanos has ranked among CMS’s “Top Hospitals for Patient Experience.”
