NCI recognizes Mount Sinai's Tisch Cancer Institute and the Cancer Center at Illinois

Event date: September 2025 and April 2026. Posted October 29, 2026; updated October 29, 2026.

What NCI announced

NCI's Office of Cancer Centers reported that the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai was awarded Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, effective September 24, 2025. Comprehensive is NCI's highest level and recognizes depth in laboratory, clinical, and population research along with community outreach and education.

In April 2026, NCI's Office of Cancer Centers announced that it had designated the Cancer Center at Illinois as its 74th cancer center, expanding the network across 37 states and the District of Columbia. The university says it is designated as a basic cancer center, which means it focuses on laboratory research rather than patient care.

What this means for people with mesothelioma

NCI designation tells you a center meets NCI's standards for research. For mesothelioma, a rare cancer, many patients look for a team that sees it often and can offer clinical trials. Only clinical and comprehensive centers see patients, so the Illinois center is not a treatment option. Ask any center how many people with mesothelioma it treats each year and which trials are open. Our treatment centers page lists NCI-designated centers that see patients, by state, and will be updated when NCI updates its list.

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