The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute on the central campus in Little Rock opened its doors in 1989 and is now well on the way to becoming Arkansas’ first and only cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute. This will place the Cancer Institute among the top 2% of cancer centers in the country, giving Arkansans access to the latest clinical trials and our scientists the ability to receive significant grant funding. Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., joined UAMS in 2019 as director of the Cancer Institute and is leading the drive to NCI designation.
The Cancer Institute also is home to Arkansas’ only adult Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program and is the first and only hospital in Arkansas approved to provide CAR T-cell therapy, a revolutionary new therapy for certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
UAMS, in collaboration with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International, opened Arkansas’ first and only proton radiation center in September 2023. The Proton Center of Arkansas is only the 43rd such center in the United States. Proton therapy is one of the most advanced cancer radiation treatments in the world and uses positively charged proton particles to kill cancer cells. Proton therapy’s ability to target cancer without damaging nearby healthy tissue, allows it to achieve a precise attack.