Cancer research close to home
Through our Cancer Research Center, patients gain access to research at their community hospital or clinic. We offer clinical trial opportunities to patients at all HealthPartners and Park Nicollet cancer clinic locations including HealthPartners Frauenshuh Cancer Center and HealthPartners Cancer Center at Regions Hospital. Through clinician expertise and strong collaboration with our clinic and hospital partners, we advance the science of cancer treatment and care delivery—close to home.
Read our recent highlights in our annual summary.
Key areas
Clinical cancer research
Providing clinical trials as an option for patients with cancer is a vital step in advancing knowledge. Clinical trials may answer important scientific questions and suggest future research directions. Thanks to progress made through clinical trials, many people treated for cancer are living longer and enjoying a better quality of life.
We offer trials to help prevent, screen for, diagnose, and treat cancer and manage the side effects of treatment and the symptoms of the disease. These trials range from Phase I trials, the first step in testing a new treatment in humans, to Phase IV trials.
Learn more about our studies and investigators. And review active trials here:
- Cancer Research Center studies are available at certain HealthPartners clinics.
- Metro-Minnesota Community Oncology Research Consortium (MMCORC) studies are available at most participating cancer clinics in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
National leadership in cannabis research
How does cannabis impact patients with cancer? Can it ease symptoms or impact tumors? How are patients using it? We are studying these questions and sharing our findings with the scientific community and patients. Through our publications and studies, we are becoming a national leader in this field. Learn more about our cannabis research.
Phase 1 program continues to grow
The Cancer Research Center early phase therapeutics program (Phase 1) recently expanded trial opportunities and enrolled more patients than ever before. This was notable since many other cancer research programs paused enrollment due to COVID-19. Since its inception in 2016, the program has offered 46 different clinical trials to our patients. Many of these trials are open to patients with any cancer diagnosis, providing our patients with a variety of opportunities to participate.
Regional and national partnerships
Almost all studies are conducted in partnership with HealthPartners oncologists to ensure that issues relevant to patient care are examined and that results can be used to improve care. In addition, we have longstanding, productive partnerships with local, regional and national organizations. Learn more about our partnerships.
Publications
Visit Knowledge Exchange for a current list of publications from Cancer Research Center.
Key contacts
Joanna Hill, MBA, CCRP – Director, Cancer Research Center
Dylan Zylla, MD, MS – Medical Director, Cancer Research Center
CancerResearch@HealthPartners.com or call 952-977-5555.
