# University of Florida Health Cancer Center

Source: https://onco.cc/institutions/uf-health-cancer-center/  
OnCo record `uf-health-cancer-center` (Institution). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Florida's newest NCI-designated centre (2023), with a pioneering proton institute in Jacksonville and personalised mRNA vaccine work in brain tumours.

## Summary

UF Health Cancer Center received NCI designation in 2023 and covers north-central Florida from Gainesville. The UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, opened in 2006, was among the first US proton centres and has treated large numbers of paediatric and prostate patients. Duane Mitchell and Elias Sayour's neuro-oncology immunotherapy programme developed RNA-loaded dendritic cell vaccines and, in 2024, reported a personalised mRNA-lipid particle vaccine that rapidly reprogrammed the immune response in glioblastoma patients. The centre also hosts a large paediatric oncology programme and rural community outreach.

## Fields

- Kind: Institution
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: UF Health Cancer Institute
- City: Gainesville, FL, US
- Type: cancer-center
- NCI designation: clinical
- Website: https://cancer.ufl.edu

## Sources

- UF Health Cancer Center: https://cancer.ufl.edu
- UF Health Proton Therapy Institute: https://www.floridaproton.org
- PTCOG: particle therapy facilities in operation: https://www.ptcog.site/index.php/facilities-in-operation-public

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/), [Medulloblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/medulloblastoma/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- fronts: [Immunotherapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/immunotherapy/), [Radiation Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiation/)
- technologies: [Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines](https://onco.cc/technologies/neoantigen-mrna-vaccine/), [Proton therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/proton-therapy/), [Proton therapy machines: cyclotrons, synchrotrons and single-room systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/proton-therapy-systems/)
- people: [Thomas J. George](https://onco.cc/people/thomas-george/)
- bottlenecks: [The brain: barrier and sanctuary](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-brain-delivery/)
- institutions: [National Cancer Institute (NIH)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nci/)
- collections: [NCI-Designated Cancer Centers](https://onco.cc/collections/nci-cancer-centers/)
- drugs: [Ivermectin](https://onco.cc/drugs/ivermectin/)
- trials: [ICONIC: ivermectin combined with immune checkpoint inhibition in cancer (University of Florida phase 2)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07487805/)

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