A year of transformative progress

As one of only four National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers in Texas and the only one for the South Texas region, we remain steadfast in finding new treatments to combat every type of cancer in our communities. I am pleased to share with you the 2022 annual report for the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center.

During the past year, our patients and their families, as well as our faculty, researchers and staff, have united with an unwavering resolve in our shared fight against cancer. We know that we make progress in this battle only through research. Everything we do today to cure cancer is possible because of successful research efforts. Likewise, the leading-edge cancer care we provide educates the next generation of clinicians to fulfill our mission: to decrease the burden of cancer in San Antonio, South Texas and beyond.

We also know that we only make real progress against cancer when that progress serves to help our community. Only through cancer clinical trials can we determine which treatments are better and why. That is why a fundamental focus of our cancer center is to advance the science of cancer within our regional, diverse communities. Our center is one of the country’s leading sites for enrolling Hispanics into clinical trials, and that diversity of participation remains vital to our research efforts.

As an NCI-designated Cancer Center since 1991, the Mays Cancer Center is on the path to seeking the next level of designation as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. We are engaging in this endeavor with new, aligned services on many levels, including cardio-oncology, onco-nephrology, cancer survivorship and surgical oncology, as well as growth in new faculty and resources, drug development and infrastructure.

At the Mays Cancer Center, our focus is in four key areas. The first is understanding the biology of cancer. Why does cancer occur? How does it develop? Why does it progress? We ask these questions through a South Texas lens given the unique needs of our regional population. Our region has much higher incidences of certain cancers, like liver cancer, than the rest of the nation. Understanding why this occurs may help us prevent it from developing in the first place.

A second focus is advancing the science of cancer in the Hispanic community. We study how culture, ethnicity and social determinants of health impact the entire cancer journey, from predisposition to certain cancers, to prevention of those cancers, and cancer survivorship.

Third, we focus on the development and testing of new therapies to move our research into clinical practice by advancing new treatments and making those widely available. And finally, we consider how we can best deliver comprehensive cancer care in an evidence-based, patient-centered way. We know that what we do in treatment has an echo that radiates through the rest of a patient’s life.

In our quest to end cancer, we have learned that caring for cancer patients does not cease with the end of their treatment. We understand that cancer survivorship is about more than just the absence of cancer. It is about healing the whole person, which often takes far longer than the cancer treatment itself. We understand that no one can walk the journey against cancer alone. Our caregivers support and inspire our cancer patients during their hardest moments.

For all who would join us in this fight, we offer in this report a glimpse of our research achievements, our breakthrough discoveries and the unrelenting hope of our cancer heroes and caregivers.

Highest Regards,

Robert Hromas, MD

Dean, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, and Vice President for Medical Affairs, UT Health San Antonio

UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital will provide advanced care to cancer patients
This 144-bed best-in-class hospital is the first of its kind and will provide advanced technology and treatments. With experts in cancer treatment, research and specialty medicine, it will offer comprehensive, coordinated care for even the most complex conditions.

“Our UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, scheduled to open in late 2024, will bring unique capabilities in cancer care such as new program development in cellular and stem cell therapies, as well as the ability to conduct complex inpatient cancer clinical trials in the local community.” — Robert Hromas, MD

Read more stories from our 2022 Annual Report.

Learn more about the Mays Cancer Center's NCI Designation.