Vision:  within the next ten years, we will be able to prevent most solid tumors by detecting them and their precursors at an early stage, and we will extend and enhance life for people with solid tumors through improved therapeutics. The focus will be on some of the most prevalent and/or most deadly tumors:  breast, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, lung, and prostate cancers.

Targeted areas: 

• Understanding how and why people develop solid tumors to improve prevention and treatment

• Developing effective methods to prevent, detect and cure early stage cancers

• Developing new therapies and more effective supportive care to lengthen survival and improve quality of life for patients with late stage cancers

 Why the Consortium and Alliance:

• Fred Hutchinson is a world leader in interdisciplinary research for prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.
• University of Washington is a world leader in clinical specialties such as surgery and imaging.  They also have chronic disease and high risk clinics in several specialities (colon, liver, esophageal, breast) which provide excellent opportunities for identifying precursor cancers.
• Alliance physicians and staff are nationally known experts in multidisciplinary treatment of solid tumors.
• Fred Hutchinson and UW have world-class investigators in most of the necessary disciplines for breakthrough discovery, including basic sciences, genomics, proteomics, nanotechnology, and molecular and animal imaging.