MD Anderson Ranked #2 in Annual U.S. News & World Report Survey

MD Anderson News Release July 14, 2014

MD Anderson News Release 07/14/14

According to the annual “Best Hospitals” survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is ranked No. 2 in cancer care this year.

Since the survey began 25 years ago, MD Anderson consistently has held either first or second place in the category of top hospitals for cancer care.  It’s been ranked No. 1 for 10 of the past 13 years.

Ranked first this year is Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with whom MD Anderson has shared the top two places since 1990. Memorial Sloan Kettering scored 100 points overall in the survey, while MD Anderson scored 99.9 points. The full list of cancer rankings can be found here.

Two MD Anderson subspecialties also were highly ranked in the national survey. In the ear, nose and throat category, MD Anderson’s head and neck service was ranked No. 5, and gynecology was ranked No. 8.  These rankings are significant because they include both specialty and general hospitals nationally, not just cancer centers.  Both of these specialties have been ranked in the top 20 since 1991.

MD Anderson’s urology, nephrology and orthopedics services also were recognized as “high performing” for meeting the survey’s requirements for excellence.

“I’m very proud of our perennial national ranking as one of the top two cancer centers for the past 25 years,” says MD Anderson President Ron DePinho, M.D.  “It’s great national recognition of our commitment to patients and our mission to end cancer. It also says a lot about the quality of people who work here.”

Last year, more than 120,000 people came to MD Anderson for care, services and clinical trials from all over the world. Nearly one-third of them were new patients. Patients come to receive the most innovative therapies, surgical approaches, diagnostic techniques and technologies and prevention strategies.

Revenues from patient care contribute to MD Anderson’s mission areas, including research and education. State support, philanthropy, funding from private and federal grants and contracts and earnings from patient care contributed more than $670 million for institutional research efforts last year.  MD Anderson ranks first in total grant dollars received from the National Cancer Institute.

Two years ago, the institution announced its Moon Shots Program, targeting eight types of cancer to accelerate the pace of converting scientific discoveries into clinical advances that reduce cancer deaths. To date, more than $170 million has been raised to support the initiative. The ultimate goal of the program is for all cancers to become one of the targeted diseases.

Last year, almost 7,600 patients were enrolled in therapeutic clinical trials available through MD Anderson’s Texas Medical Center campus and its expanding network of regional and national locations and affiliations.  This commitment to innovative patient care is one of the largest in the world and has helped make many of the newest drugs available to cancer patients.

The institution’s national and global reach extends to Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Ariz., MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Camden, N.J., and affiliate programs in Spain and Turkey. More than a dozen hospitals and health care systems have qualified to be members of a certified network of community hospitals that are committed to improving cancer care in their regions through using MD Anderson treatment regimens to care for their patients.

In the Houston area, MD Anderson has clinical locations in The Woodlands, Bay Area, Sugar Land and Katy. A recently opened location at Memorial Hermann Memorial City is home to a specialized surgery clinic. MD Anderson also extends care, supportive programs and clinical trials to underserved populations at Houston’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital, a component of the Harris Health System.

One of Houston’s largest employers, MD Anderson employs more than 20,000 people across Houston and two campuses in Central Texas.  The efforts of 1,200 volunteers complement the workforce, contributing more than 193,000 hours of service.