Hollings Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Carolina, anchoring the state’s largest academic cancer research program with more than 240 researchers and care sites extending throughout the state. The center offers more than 200 clinical trials, including a dedicated phase 1 clinic, and its new center for cellular therapy runs a trial of purified CAR-T cells developed by Hollings scientists at significantly reduced cost. Through its community outreach and education program, Hollings reaches all 46 counties in the state, including the “SC AMEN” cancer-education initiative for African American men and a mobile health unit offering mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. MUSC recently broke ground on a new comprehensive cancer hospital that will consolidate inpatient and outpatient services under one roof, adding 100 inpatient rooms, 14 operating rooms and South Carolina’s first proton therapy unit. Research funding reached $51 million, and Hollings’ participation in the Blue Cross Blue Shield “Enhancing Oncology Model” recorded a 0% rate of chemotherapy in patients’ final 14 days of life, compared with a 14.06 peer-network average. A multidisciplinary effort to improve inpatient chemotherapy throughput increased the share of patients starting treatment on their day of admission from 17% to 62%. Value-based care screening also topped 98.8% for social determinants of health and 95.4% for depression follow-up compliance across oncology patients.
