The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cancer Institute, in partnership with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, earned Florida’s designation as Cancer Center of Excellence. The designation, awarded by the Florida Department of Health after a thorough review by the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council and members of the Biomedical Research Advisory Council, recognizes academic institutions and hospitals that exceed service standards and excel in providing quality, comprehensive, and patient-centered care and cancer research. Only seven cancer centers in the state have achieved this status.
Academic Medicine and Clinical Excellence
The TGH Cancer Institute ranks among the nation’s top 10% for cancer treatment by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2025-2026. Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, emphasized the advantages of academic medicine: “The designation reflects the power of academic medicine to provide the best care. Patients treated at an academic medical center have a 20% higher rate of survival. We have the multidisciplinary collaboration and top-level expertise in place that can provide the most advanced care to even medically complex patients with the most difficult cancer diagnoses.”
The Institute holds accreditations from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology Program for Excellence. It is a member of the Association of American Cancer Institutes and was named among Newsweek’s America’s Best Cancer Hospitals.
Path Forward and Impact
Eduardo Sotomayor, MD, vice president at Tampa General Hospital and executive director of the TGH Cancer Institute, stated: “Here at the TGH Cancer Institute, patients with cancer benefit from compassionate care, state-of-the-art clinical research and innovative therapies that not only improve patient outcomes, but contribute to a better quality of life.” The Cancer Center of Excellence designation is a significant milestone toward the Institute’s long-term goal of obtaining a designation from the National Cancer Institute, which recognizes centers that meet rigorous standards for transdisciplinary research focused on developing new and better approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tampa-general-hospital-and-usf-health-named-cancer-center-of-excellence-in-florida-302723416.html