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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

 
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

 
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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
 
 
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The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, located in Seattle
Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the most populous city in the US state of Washington and the Northwestern United States. The encompassing Seattle metropolitan area is the 15th largest in the United States, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest....
, Washington was established in 1975 and is one of the world’s leading cancer-research institutes. Its interdisciplinary teams of scientists conduct research in the laboratory, at patient bedside, and in communities throughout the world to advance the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
 and other diseases.

Center researchers pioneered bone-marrow transplantation for leukemia
Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood Cell , usually white blood cells ....
 and other blood diseases.






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The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, located in Seattle
Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the most populous city in the US state of Washington and the Northwestern United States. The encompassing Seattle metropolitan area is the 15th largest in the United States, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest....
, Washington was established in 1975 and is one of the world’s leading cancer-research institutes. Its interdisciplinary teams of scientists conduct research in the laboratory, at patient bedside, and in communities throughout the world to advance the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
 and other diseases.

Center researchers pioneered bone-marrow transplantation for leukemia
Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood Cell , usually white blood cells ....
 and other blood diseases. This research has cured thousands of patients worldwide and has boosted survival rates for certain forms of leukemia from zero to as high as 85 percent.

The Center grew out of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation, founded in 1956 by Dr. William Hutchinson. The Foundation was dedicated to the study of heart
Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
 surgery
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
, cancer, and diseases of the endocrine system
Endocrine system

The endocrine system is a system of small organs that involve the release of extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating metabolism, human development , and tissue and also plays a part in determining Mood ....
. In 1964, Dr. Hutchinson's brother Fred Hutchinson
Fred Hutchinson

Frederick Charles Hutchinson was an United States professional baseball player, a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He also was a manager for three major league teams....
, who had been a baseball
Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...
 player for the Seattle Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers

The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1906, and from 1919 though 1968....
 and Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit, Michigan in ....
 and later managed the Rainiers, the Tigers, the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the National League Central in the National League of Major League Baseball....
 and the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. They are members of the National League Central of the National League....
, died of lung cancer
Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissue of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs....
. The next year, Dr. Hutchinson established the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a division of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. The Center split off from its parent foundation in 1972, and the physical center was opened in 1975.

Nobel Prize Recipients


The Hutchinson Center is home to three recipients of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Physiology or Medic...
.
  • Linda Buck, Ph.D.
    Linda B. Buck

    Linda B. Buck, Doctor of Philosophy, is an United States of America biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors....
    , received the award in 2004 for solving many details of the olfactory system
    Olfactory system

    The olfactory system is the sensory system used for olfaction, or the sense of smell. Most mammals and reptiles have two distinct parts to their olfactory system: a main olfactory system and an accessory olfactory system....
     – the complex network that governs our sense of smell.
  • Lee Hartwell, Ph.D.
    Leland H. Hartwell

    Leland Harrison Hartwell is president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contributions to the understanding of the cell cycle through years of studying yeast....
    , the Center’s president and director, received the honor in 2001 for his discoveries regarding the mechanisms that control cell division
    Cell division

    Cell division is a process by which a cell , called the parent cell, divides into two or more cells, called daughter cells. Cell division is usually a small segment of a larger cell cycle....
     ; and
  • E. Donnall Thomas, M.D.
    E. Donnall Thomas

    Dr. Edward Donnall Thomas is an American physician, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center....
    , received the award in 1990 for his pioneering work in bone-marrow transplantation ;


Research Initiatives


The Hutchinson Center’s ongoing commitment to conducting research of the highest standards to improve the quality of life for people around the world is exemplified by its eight major research initiatives, which harness the institution’s strengths to achieve the greatest health benefits for humanity. These initiatives focus on the following areas:

Early detection
For many cancers, when the disease is detected at an early or pre-cancer stage, nine out of 10 patients will survive. The Center leads major national and international research projects devoted to the discovery of powerful new protein-based blood tests to diagnose cancer at its earliest, most curable stages.


Immunotherapy
Hutchinson Center researchers lead a revolutionary new field called immunotherapy
Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy, in medicine, refers to an array of treatment strategies based upon the concept of modulating the immune system to achieve a Prophylaxis and/or Immunosuppressive therapy goal....
, which yields effective cancer treatments with far fewer side effects than conventional therapy. Immunotherapy harnesses the power of the immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
 to fight cancer, much as it naturally eliminates everyday infections like the common cold
Common cold

Acute viral rhinopharyngitis, or acute coryza, usually known as the common cold, is a highly contagious, virus infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, primarily caused by picornaviruses or coronaviruses....
.


International research
The Center’s commitment to improving the quality of life for those with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases knows no borders. The Center has launched a global-health initiative to speed the development and delivery of preventive measures for the world's most urgent public-health problems.


Tumor research
The tumor-research initiative seeks to find new ways to create better therapies for treating tumors once they’re found. This is such an important goal that the Center has united with a team of oncologists, surgeons and other clinical specialists at UW Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center , the Hutchinson Center's partners in the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, or SCCA . Through this partnership the best new cancer treatments are made rapidly available to patients.


Fundamental research
By studying the basic properties of healthy cells and comparing them to abnormal cells, Hutchinson Center scientists identify the genes and proteins that contribute to disease and use this knowledge to benefit human health.


Childhood cancer
The Center’s track record of improving the odds of many pediatric patients has led to the development and evaluation of new and improved treatments for childhood brain tumors, leukemia
Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood Cell , usually white blood cells ....
, sarcoma
Sarcoma

A sarcoma is a cancer of the connective tissue resulting in mesoderm proliferation.This is in contrast to Carcinoma, which are of Epithelium origin ....
 and other cancers.


Leukemia/lymphoma and blood-related diseases
The Hutchinson Center is internationally known for pioneering bone-marrow transplantation for leukemia
Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood Cell , usually white blood cells ....
, lymphoma
Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that originates in lymphocytes of the immune system. They often originate in lymph nodes, presenting as an enlargement of the node ....
 and other blood disorders. Center scientists continue to advance and refine this area of life-saving research. An example is the “mini-transplant,” a modified transplant procedure that requires no hospitalization, has few side effects and shows promise for kidney and other solid-tumor cancers.


Prevention research
The Hutchinson Center houses the world’s oldest and largest cancer-prevention research program, which is dedicated to uncovering the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that influence a person’s likelihood of getting cancer. This knowledge is then used to test ways to reduce that risk.


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