Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Last updated
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA)
Cancer Treatment Centers of America logo.svg
Geography
LocationUnited States
Organization
Care system Private
Type Specialist
Services
SpecialityCancer
History
Opened1988;36 years ago (1988)
ClosedAcquired by City of Hope, 2022
Links
Lists Hospitals in the United States

Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, was a national, for-profit network of five comprehensive cancer care and research centers and three outpatient care centers that served cancer patients throughout the United States. It was acquired by City of Hope in 2022, and its hospitals and outpatient locations were rebranded in 2023, together now operating as a non-profit organization under the parent name City of Hope. [1]

Contents

CTCA was originally headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. In January 2015, the corporate office was moved to Boca Raton, Florida, and was renamed Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc. [2]

History

Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) was founded in 1988 by Richard J. Stephenson following the death of his mother, Mary Brown Stephenson, who died from lung cancer. [3] Stephenson purchased the American International Hospital in Zion, Illinois, in 1988 and expanded the hospital to include a radiation center, the Mary Brown Stephenson Radiation Oncology Center. That center served as the CTCA's first location. [4]

CTCA formally opened its second hospital on May 7, 1990, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, located in the CityPlex Towers, which were constructed by Oral Roberts as part of the City of Faith hospital. Fifteen years later, on April 29, 2005, the center relocated to a newly constructed 195,845-square-foot hospital in Tulsa. [5]

In 2004, CTCA purchased the former Parkview hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. After renovating 104,000 square feet and adding an additional 81,000 square feet for future expansion, [6] CTCA opened the location on December 19, 2005. With a total of 200,025 square-foot facility, the Philadelphia location became CTCA's first hospital on the east coast. [7] On March 26, 2021, Temple University announced that it would acquire the Philadelphia location to provide needed office and clinical space for use by Temple University Hospital. [8]

On Dec. 29, 2008 CTCA opened Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Phoenix, with a 210,000-square-foot hospital serving patients primary from the west coast. On September 18, 2012, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Atlanta opened to patients. [7] In 2015, it opened a patient concierge and information office in Mexico City. It also advertised in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America, offering patients in these regions the opportunity to pursue treatment at one of its U.S. comprehensive cancer care and research centers.

Each cancer hospital earned accreditations and certifications from the Joint Commissions, [9] American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, [10] and National Accreditation Program of Breast Centers. [11]

In June 2021, as part of the organization's downsizing efforts, CTCA closed 2 of its 5 locations: Philadelphia and Tulsa. Temple University Hospital purchased the Philadelphia location. CTCA cited regional market difficulties along with low revenue in these locations as the reason for this closure. [12]

It was reported on December 2021 that CTCA would be acquired by Duarte, California-based City of Hope National Medical Center for $390 million [13] and the acquisition closed in early 2022. [14]

Clinical services

In 2016, CTCA offered the TAPUR a (Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry) study. This was led by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). [15]

Controversy

FTC complaint

Cancer Treatment Centers of America was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint in 1993 alleging that CTCA made false claims regarding the success rates of certain cancer treatments in marketing and promotional materials. Among other unsubstantiated claims, CTCA advertised that it was able to treat certain forms of cancer through specific procedures such as "whole body hyperthermia" and "brachytheraphy”. This claim was settled in March 1996 with an injunction, requiring CTCA to discontinue use of any unsubstantiated claims in its advertising. [16] CTCA is also required to have proven, scientific evidence for all statements regarding the safety, success rates, endorsements, and benefits of its cancer treatments. CTCA was also required to follow various steps in order to report compliance to the FTC per the settlement. The injunction expired in 2016 with no violations over the 20 year period. [17]

Truth in Advertising report

In 2018, Truth in Advertising published a reporting that almost all major cancer centers engaged in misleading advertising. Of all centers studied CTCA spent the most money on such advertising in 2017. In particular, cancer experts reviewed CTCA's claims that its survival rates were better than national averages. CTCA compared its outcomes with the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The experts said that CTCA's patients and SEER's patients were not compatible, and that the comparison was biased in favor of CTCA. For example, CTCA's patients were younger, and better-insured: According to Reuters, CTCA screened patients for insurance coverage, and "has relatively few elderly patients [and] almost none who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid". Furthermore, it "includes in its outcomes data only those patients 'who received treatment at CTCA for the duration of their illness' - patients who have the ability to travel to CTCA locations from the get-go". [18] [19] [20] [21] Additional details on CTCA treatment results on methodology and sources of information can be found on the issued CTCA treatment results publication. [22] L. Kirk Hagen, humanities professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, pointed out that in CTCA's Web site is a disclaimer that reads "[The CTCA] makes no claims about the efficacy of specific treatments, the delivery of care, nor the meaning of the CTCA and SEER analysis." [23] The Truth in Advertising report noted that the FTC "rewrote the rules governing the use of testimonials, in 2009, to say that such disclaimers are not sufficient because consumers believe that theirs will be the atypical experience depicted in the ad." [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Trade Commission</span> United States government agency

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The agency is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington, DC.

Medical tourism refers to people traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel to developing countries for lower-priced medical treatments. With differences between the medical agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), etc., which decide whether a drug is approved in their country or region, or not, the motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or non-licensed in the home country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelation therapy</span> Medical procedure to remove heavy metals from the body

Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very specific medical treatments, although it is administered under very careful medical supervision due to various inherent risks, including the mobilization of mercury and other metals through the brain and other parts of the body by the use of weak chelating agents that unbind with metals before elimination, exacerbating existing damage. To avoid mobilization, some practitioners of chelation use strong chelators, such as selenium, taken at low doses over a long period of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Hospital of Philadelphia</span> Hospital in U.S., Delaware Valley

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, also known by its acronym CHOP, is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its primary campus is located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The hospital has 594 beds and more than one million outpatient and inpatient visits annually. It is one of the world's largest and oldest children's hospitals and the first hospital dedicated to the healthcare of children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center</span> Hospital in New York, United States of America

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. The center is usually called Roswell Park in short. The center, which conducts clinical research on cancer as well as the development new drugs, provides advanced treatment for all forms of adult and pediatric cancer, and serves as a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is as of 2019, the only upstate New York facility to hold the National Cancer Institute designation of "comprehensive cancer center".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Park</span> American physician

Chandler Park is an American physician, medical journalist, and clinical researcher. In June 2021, his cancer research was published in prominent medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Park also contributes regularly as an expert physician for popular newspapers and magazines such as Newsweek, Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report, The Exponent-Telegram, College of St. Scholastica, and Medscape and writes medical news for Doximity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Medical Center</span> Hospital in California, United States

UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The medical center sits on a 142-acre (57 ha) campus (often referred to as the Sacramento Campus to distinguish it from the main campus in nearby Davis) located between the Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Oak Park residential neighborhoods. The site incorporates the land and some of the buildings of the former Sacramento Medical Center (which was acquired from the County of Sacramento in 1973) as well as much of the land (and two buildings) previously occupied by the California State Fair until its 1967 move to a new location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust</span> NHS hospital trust

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust provides adult district general hospital services for Birmingham as well as specialist treatments for the West Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Hope National Medical Center</span> U.S. clinical research center and hospital

City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, with a network of clinical practice locations throughout Southern California, satellite offices in Monrovia and Irwindale, and regional fundraising offices throughout the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NYU Langone Health</span> Hospital in New York, United States

NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The organization consists of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and more than 300 locations throughout the New York metropolitan area, including six inpatient facilities: Tisch Hospital; Kimmel Pavilion; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital; Hassenfeld Children's Hospital; NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn; and NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island. It is also home to Rusk Rehabilitation. NYU Langone Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in the Northeast, with more than 46,000 employees.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization representing physicians of all oncology sub-specialties who care for people with cancer. Founded in 1964 by Fred Ansfield, Harry Bisel, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus Goudsmit, Robert Talley, William Wilson, and Jane C. Wright, it has nearly 45,000 members worldwide.

OU Health is the combination of OU Medical Center – Oklahoma City & Edmond, the Children's Hospital, OU Physicians, OU Children's Physicians, the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center. OU Health focuses on improving health by collaboration, searching for innovation and encouraging high performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Medical Center (Springfield, Massachusetts)</span> Hospital in Massachusetts, United States

Mercy Medical Center is located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded by the Sisters of Providence Health System, Mercy Hospital is a faith-based, non-profit organization serving patients regardless of background or beliefs. Mercy Medical Center is known for its tradition of holistic health care.

High-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant (HDC/BMT), also high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplant, was an ineffective treatment regimen for metastatic breast cancer, and later high-risk breast cancer, that was considered promising during the 1980s and 1990s. With an overall idea that more is better, this process involved taking cells from the person's bone marrow to store in a lab, then to give such high doses of chemotherapy drugs that the remaining bone marrow was destroyed, and then to inject the cells taken earlier back into the body as replacement. It was ultimately determined to be no more effective than normal treatment, and to have significantly higher side effects, including treatment-related death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard J Stephenson</span> American businessman

Richard J. Stephenson is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and chair of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). He is active in conservative politics.

Eric P. Winer is a medical oncologist and clinical researcher specializing in breast cancer. He is director of Yale Cancer Center and president and physician-in-chief of Smilow Cancer Hospital Yale New Haven Health System, effective February 1, 2022. He also is Deputy Dean for Cancer Research at Yale School of Medicine. From 1997 to 2021, he was the Chief of the Breast Oncology Program at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Beginning in 2013, he held a range of institutional roles at Dana-Farber, including Chief of Clinical Development, the Thompson Chair in Breast Cancer Research and Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard SPORE in Breast Cancer. He also served as a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022-2023 and became Chair of the Board in mid-June 2023. His career has been focused on breast cancer treatment and research.

Everett E. Vokes is an American oncologist. He is the John E. Ultmann Professor, chair of the Department of Medicine, and physician-in-chief at the University of Chicago Medical Center. In this role, he pioneered the combination radiation and chemotherapy as first-line treatment for head and neck cancer.

Lori Jo Pierce is an American radiation oncologist and 57th President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is a Full Professor and Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the use of radiotherapy in the multi-modality treatment of breast cancer, with emphasis on intensity modulated radiotherapy in node positive breast cancer, the use of radiosensitizing agents, and the outcomes of women treated with radiation for breast cancer who are carriers of a BRCA1/2 breast cancer susceptibility gene.

References

  1. "Cancer Treatment Centers of America Rebrands as City of Hope". Medical Marketing and Media. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. "Media Kits for Journalists: CTCA". 8 December 2021.
  3. "Cancer Treatment Centers of America: History". cancercenter.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. "Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Inc. : Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. "History of CTCA in Tulsa, OK". cancercenter.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. "Cancer Treatment Centers of America Eastern Regional Medical Center: Turner Construction Company". turnerconstruction.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Patients, caregivers and spiritual community to lay foundation of new Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospital with blessings, May 5". patch.com. May 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. Brubaker, Harold (March 26, 2021). "Temple will take over Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Philadelphia location". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. "Find Organizations that have achieved the gold seal of approval from The Joint Commission". www.qualitycheck.org. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. "Search on Commission on Cancer (CoC) Hospital Locator". www.facs.org. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  11. "Searching for NAPBC-Accredited Centers". www.facs.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  12. "CTCA leaves Tulsa and Philadelphia; Tulsa move comes amid Blue Cross cost-cutting moves". The Cancer Letter. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  13. "City of Hope to buy Cancer Treatment Centers of America for $390M". 7 December 2021.
  14. "City of Hope closes acquisition of Cancer Treatment Centers of America". Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  15. "ASCO Official Website". www.asco.org. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  16. "Companies That Purport to Successfully Treat Cancer Agree to Settle FTC Charges over Their Claims" (Press release). Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 13 March 1996. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  17. "Federal Trade Commission Search Results on Claim 922 3308". Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Cancer Care: The Deceptive Marketing of Hope" Medscape Medical News October 22nd, 2018
  19. "Many US Cancer Centers Accused of Misleading Advertising". Medscape. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  20. Sharon Begley, Robin Respaut "Special Report: Behind a cancer-treatment firm's rosy survival claims" Special Reports March 6, 2013 Accessed Feb 5, 2029.
  21. Chesanow, Neil (4 December 2014). "Is Cancer Hospital Advertising Misleading Patients?". Medscape. Medscape Business of Medicine. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  22. "Cancer Treatment Statistics and Results". www.cancercenter.com. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  23. Hagen, L. Kirk (2016). "The State of Tumortown". Skeptic. Vol. 21, no. 4. p. 45. ISSN   1063-9330 . Retrieved 4 August 2017.