Construction begins on ground-breaking cancer care complex in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - Construction has begun on a multi-million dollar cancer care complex expected to save patients money and time in the Kansas City metro.

The University of Kansas Health System announced that on Friday, May 23, ground was broken on the future site of a new Cancer Center complex, which is expected to bring research and patient care into a single building for the first time in the health network’s history.

Network leaders noted that the new building is the realization of a long-time vision of the KU Cancer Center to bring all departments into a single complex - from physician-scientists to researchers to doctors and clinical staff.

“Today marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to address one of the greatest health challenges of our time: cancer,” said Roy Jensen, M.D., vice chancellor and director of KU Cancer Center. “This new center will unite researchers, clinicians and patients side-by-side in one facility, ing the real-time collaborations that are essential for groundbreaking discoveries. We intend to create a global destination for patient care and research.”

Medical Center officials indicated that the groundbreaking was followed by a celebration attended by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), U.S. Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS), Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and a host of other dignitaries.

In 2022, network leaders said the KU Cancer Center was dubbed a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This is the highest honor awarded by the NCI and is the gold standard.

“We knew that (the comprehensive designation) wasn’t the culmination of our work,” said Douglas A. Girod, M.D., chancellor of the University of Kansas. “Rather, it was an important milestone along the way to our next goal – which was to develop the facilities necessary to bring clinical and research capabilities together in the same place to provide better patient care and facilitate the development of new treatments and cures.”

According to leaders, the new complex is expected to cellular therapy, which uses the body’s own cells to fight cancer with fewer side effects than traditional treatments. It will also house a cellular therapeutics Good Manufacturing Practice lab to expedite CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment that uses re-engineered cells to find and destroy cancer.

The new complex is also expected to save patients money and time. KU Cancer Center remains the only one in the region to offer all seven FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies.

Network leadership noted that the complex has been funded by multiple sources, including a $100 million lead gift from the Sunderland Foundation - the largest ever received by the University of Kansas and the KU Health System. Meanwhile, Sen. Moran secured federal funds as Gov. Kelly ed the appropriation of state funds.

“All recovery from this dreaded disease starts with the power of hope,” Moran said. “Today we celebrate hope.”

For more information about the KU Cancer Center, click HERE.

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