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Quality of Care

How Many Patients Have You Cared For With My Type of Cancer?

Pie chart

Cancer is not just one disease – it’s a collection of more than 100 different diseases, each with its own characteristics, its own set of treatments and its own challenges. In general, the more of a particular kind of cancer a center treats, the better that center tends to be in treating that type of cancer.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is a major referral center that treats all types of cancers in adults and children (through the Vanderbilt Childhood Cancer Program at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt). Here are some details about our patient volumes and links to additional information:

  • Our Cancer Registry records and follows new cancer cases that we see. The number of new cases entered into our Registry has grown from 2,265 in 1999 to 3,957 in 2006 (the most complete year of available information). That’s an increase of 75%.
  • We currently have more than 20,000 patients under active follow up by our Cancer Registry.
  • The number of unique patients who receive treatment in our main Henry-Joyce Cancer Clinic and our Breast Center (Vanderbilt Breast Center at One Hundred Oaks) continues to grow. In Fiscal Year 2008, unique patients exceeded 13,000, up from 10,000 in FY2005. In the first six months of FY09 (July 2008-Dec. 2009), we saw 9,200 unique patients. These patients include those seeing medical oncologists, hematologists, surgical oncologists, gynecologic oncologists and undergoing bone marrow/stem cell transplant.
  • Our cancer-related adult inpatient discharges exceed 5,000 annually, and our pediatric cancer inpatient admissions exceed 1,000.
  • In 2008, more than 1,600 patients were treated with radiation therapy at our main campus or our satellite centers in Clarksville, Tenn., and Franklin, Tenn.

Types of cancer we treat most

In 2006, the top five types of cancer that we treated, accounting for nearly half of our new cancer cases:

Comparison of our new cancer case counts by year 2000-2006

Cancer Site 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Lip 2 4 6 3 3 7 10
Tongue 40 47 40 50 62 52 54
Salivary glands 12 14 19 10 10 14 9
Gum & hard palate 14 21 18 10 20 18 20
Floor of mouth 9 12 6 6 16 9 21
Buccal mucosa 9 9 9 12 8 10 15
Oropharynx 29 26 38 36 31 45 51
Nasopharynx 6 10 6 12 12 7 8
Hypopharynx 7 15 5 11 9 9 7
Other oral cavity 6 2 2 4 1 4 4
Esophagus 37 31 30 31 39 39 34
Stomach 18 25 24 14 20 34 38
Small Intestine 9 13 15 13 10 15 10
Colon 115 122 146 111 95 131 115
Rectum/Anus 50 53 78 62 80 98 88
Liver 48 54 49 54 72 71 64
Gallbladder 14 17 11 24 14 20 20
Pancreas 57 74 76 87 60 71 68
Other digestive tract 8 22 12 13 17 17 21
Nasal cavities, sinuses, ear 6 12 21 13 14 16 18
Larynx 51 60 51 44 74 73 71
Trachea, bronchus, lung-small 39 29 27 44 36 41 46
Trachea, bronchus, lung-NSC 236 259 255 223 260 265 254
Other respiratory 6 20 12 5 5 8 8
Bone 40 26 34 44 45 55 35
Connective & soft tissue 83 69 63 77 84 89 77
Malignant melanoma 120 153 143 174 206 215 264
Other skin 24 24 21 10 13 7 14
Breast, female & male 280 285 248 264 258 299 328
Cervix 80 85 107 46 32 40 40
Endometrium (corpus uteri) 79 76 67 56 72 70 85
Ovary 49 40 54 43 43 49 48
Other female genital organs 49 45 52 42 41 35 49
Prostate 288 341 388 397 451 592 683
Testis 27 40 25 27 36 20 26
Other male genital organs 5 9 9 12 4 7 9
Bladder 124 124 146 143 165 165 183
Kidney 97 117 138 167 184 216 165
Other urinary organs 20 20 16 9 24 28 22
Eye 1 6 2 6 2 2 2
Brain 67 80 73 65 73 91 92
Other CNS 4 4 4 4 6 11 5
Thyroid 57 74 94 80 103 138 138
Other endocrine 12 9 4 8 11 15 14
Hodgkin's 32 21 35 38 29 33 27
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas 141 171 143 138 142 167 152
Plasma cell tumors 29 39 44 55 60 67 77
Lymphocytic leukemias 44 38 51 52 62 56 63
Myeloid leukemias 49 77 67 70 89 73 62
Other leukemias 14 15 11 9 7 8 8
Myeloprolif. & myelodysplas. 0 24 19 32 50 27 27
Other hematopoietic diseases 8 14 20 16 21 22 23
Other & ill-defined sites 1 0 1 2 0 2 2
Unknown primary 32 53 43 45 39 38 39
Benign/borderline brain, cns 0 0 0 0 122 153 144
Total Cases: 2684 3030 3078 3023 3442 3864 3957

 

Comparison Case Counts Primary System: All Class of Case 2000 - 2006

Primary System 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Head and Neck 134 160 149 154 172 175 199
Digestive System 356 411 441 409 407 496 458
Respiratory System 338 380 366 329 389 403 397
Bone, Skin/Soft Tissue 267 272 261 305 348 366 390
Breast, female & male 280 285 248 264 258 299 328
Reproductive Orgams 257 246 280 187 188 194 222
Male Sites 320 390 422 436 491 619 718
Urinary System 241 261 300 319 373 409 370
Central Nervous System 72 90 79 75 81 104 99
Endocrine System 69 83 98 88 114 153 152
Lymphatic System 173 192 178 176 171 200 179
Hematopoietic 144 207 212 234 289 253 260
Other & ill-defined sites 1 0 1 2 0 2 2
Unknown primary 32 53 43 45 39 38 39
Benign/borderline brain,cns N/A N/A N/A N/A 122 153 144
Total Cases: 2684 3030 3078 3023 3442 3864 3957