UC San Diego Health System takes over Nevada Cancer Institute
Just what the Nevada Cancer Institute is going to become is by no means certain.
With the acquisition of the institute officially announced Monday by the University of California San Diego Health System, only one thing seems clear: Nevada patients will continue to see their current physician for outpatient care that includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
But basic research at the institute will be no more. And a long-planned cancer hospital for surgery isn’t going to happen.
It’s a far cry from what Jim and Heather Murren — he is the chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International and she is a former Wall Street stock analyst — envisioned for the institute when it opened to the public in 2005.
They foresaw research done at the campus being implemented by clinicians and surgeries done one day by the institute’s own top-flight surgeons.
Only one of the three buildings on campus, the flagship building, was bought by the UC San Diego Health System. Another building with state-of-the-art labs sits vacant. So does the administration building and the 600-car parking garage.
The Murrens, who both lost loved ones to cancer, said they now hope the institute will enjoy all the benefits of being part of UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla, Calif., which is one of 40 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States.
But that’s hardly a done deal.
"We’ll have to see about that," said Dr. Tom McAfee, interim CEO of the UC San Diego Health System. "We don’t know the answer to that. We’ll have to see what the rules are."
Dr. Oscar Goodman Jr. of the Nevada Cancer Institute is confident that Las Vegas patients will benefit from the UC San Diego affiliation. Goodman is a son of Las Vegas’ former mayor, also named Oscar Goodman.
"If certain treatments aren’t available here, people will be able to go to San Diego," the younger Goodman said. "We’ll be able to consult with top physicians in cancer care, and just being with the San Diego system means more trials available."
A news release issued Monday by UC San Diego doesn’t state that the Nevada Cancer Institute will be under the Moores Cancer Center umbrella but does say that Nevada patients may "potentially" qualify for a wider range of clinical trials.
A National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center is allowed to use the latest therapies. Generally such centers have research and surgical components on or near their campuses, which the Murrens had hoped would materialize in Summerlin.
Research previously has been done at the Summerlin campus.
"We’re not acquiring the basic research or research building part of the institute," McAfee said. "It didn’t make financial sense to take that on. That didn’t perform well."
McAfee said it is possible that surgeons from San Diego could make rotations in Las Vegas for cancer surgeries at local hospitals but added that there was already good surgical care for cancer in Southern Nevada. He also said Las Vegans who need bone marrow transplants or special surgeries could go to San Diego for help.
To Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang, the first medical director of the Nevada Cancer Institute and now an administrator and clinician with the institute’s chief competitor, the for-profit Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, the institute will be fighting for the same well-insured patients to receive the same therapies.
"There’s plenty of oncologists locally to handle insured cancer patients," Vogelzang said. "The problem is with the uninsured and underinsured."
McAfee said the UC San Diego Health System does plan to honor a commitment made by the Nevada Cancer Institute to have doctors treat cancer patients at University Medical Center, the county-operated hospital in Las Vegas. UMC spokeswoman Danita Cohen said a meeting is scheduled in the near future "to see where we go from here."
Most of the institute’s remaining 135 employees have been offered employment by UC San Diego, McAfee said. At one point, before its financial troubles, the institute had about 350 employees.
McAfee said UC San Diego is focusing on increasing outpatient volume to make the institute a success in Las Vegas. More oncologists will be hired. So will a physician-scientist to serve as director of the institute.
According to tax records for 2009, almost half the institute’s $62 million budget came from donations, which McAfee said is not the way the California institution operates. Experts say less than 10 percent of a medical center’s operations should come from philanthropy.
Though the acquisition price of the institute flagship building was $18 million, UC San Diego received pledges that the institute’s fundraising arm would try to raise $20.8 million for the university over the next five years. The promise is backed by a rewritten grant from the Engelstad Family Foundation that totals $15 million.
Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908.
