MD Anderson's Strategic Plan
- Facts & History
- Institutional Profile
- Strategic Plan
- Annual Report
- Joint Commission
- Who Was MD Anderson
- President Peter WT Pisters, M.D.
- Executive Leadership Team
- Past Presidents
- Board of Visitors & Advance Team
- Reports to the State
- Emergency Alert
- Emil J Freireich Tribute
- 80th Anniversary
- The Legacy of R. Lee Clark
Our Strategy
For more than 80 years, our sole purpose has been Making Cancer History®. What started on a seven-acre private estate of Capt. James A. Baker with bold and compelling intent, has evolved into the nation’s leading cancer center. Our novel disease-specific centers have served more than a million patients from all over the world with subspecialized oncology care. We have reached an unmatched scale of achievement in cancer research, with the largest number of clinical trials and cancer prevention programs in the nation. As a result, thousands of students, trainees and workforce members have found successful careers and leadership paths at MD Anderson.
Inspired and informed by the extraordinary accomplishments of our esteemed predecessors, we imagined an aspirational future for MD Anderson, one worthy of the greatest cancer center in the world. We engaged our entire workforce in the planning process to create our Strategy. Our process was informed by the careful study of our top opportunities and risks, and the resulting plan takes full advantage of these exceptional opportunities while mitigating risks to ensure ongoing resiliency. Our Strategy is firmly anchored in our mission to end cancer, and it is grounded in our unwavering commitment to our stakeholders in Texas, across the nation and around the world.
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The plan serves as the blueprint for the next phase of MD Anderson's history, while also ensuring that our culture is rooted in the core values necessary for continued success. It accelerates our mission by aligning the entire organization and its resources around three strategic themes: Reach, Breakthroughs and Value.
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When paired with a purposefully designed execution framework, these three themes will result in:
- The definition and delivery of high-touch, high-value cancer care
- Increased accessibility of MD Anderson care in the communities that we serve
- High-impact research that improves the lives of patients around the world
Reach: Make it easier for the patients and communities we serve to access our expertise to ultimately prevent disease and improve health.
Breakthroughs: Drive high-impact discovery research focused on unmet medical need and accelerate translation into meaningful improvements in health outcomes to become the No. 1 cancer research organization.
Value: Set new standards for high-touch, high-value cancer care.
Examples of how we'll achieve our goals
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Care navigation can differentiate and improve our patients’ experience.
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Seamlessly connecting basic, translational and clinical research will rapidly change patient outcomes and transform care.
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Expanded virtual care capabilities will enhance the patient experience, expand access to care and support quality and efficiency.
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A leading national clinical trials network will provide more patients access to the latest novel therapies.
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Partnerships with research communities and academic and industry leaders, such as our participation in the TMC3 project, will accelerate discoveries.
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Care navigation can differentiate and improve our patients’ experience.
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Seamlessly connecting basic, translational and clinical research will rapidly change patient outcomes and transform care.
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Expanded virtual care capabilities will enhance the patient experience, expand access to care and support quality and efficiency.

A leading national clinical trials network will provide more patients access to the latest novel therapies.
MD Anderson is positioned to lead the world in ending cancer. The time is now, and we will stop at nothing to propel the pace of discovery and innovation in cancer science and care. Our Strategy is our road map for the world we face today. It reflects our ambitions, our hopes and our dreams, and it anticipates the dynamic nature of the environment in which we operate
Amidst a rapidly changing world, what will never change is our ultimate goal and our steadfast commitment to Making Cancer History®.
A blueprint to end cancer
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