Centre Overview

In 1934 the National Radium Institute was established; 17 years later, it became the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología de Colombia (INC), making it the first hospital of its kind in Latin America. Today, it operates as a government agency that advises the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and other stakeholders in developing technical and scientific activities for comprehensive cancer control through research, development and innovation, public health programs, comprehensive patient care, and training of highly specialized personnel, with the goal of understanding and treating cancer in the country.

As an oncology center, it offers comprehensive cancer support and treats approximately 7,000 new patients each year. The hospital features 173 beds, 9 operating rooms, robotic surgery, 47 chemotherapy chairs, a radiopharmacy, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, pathology laboratories, oncology support services, and a tumor bank with over 70,000 samples, among other services. It also employs more than 110 specialists in surgery, medicine, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, hematology, oncology, and supportive care. The INC holds national ICONTEC accreditation and certifications from the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) for providing oncology services and conducting research at its facilities.

Main Research Activities

The INC has achieved significant milestones in research and public health. Since 2018, it has been an associate member of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) and participates in international cancer research networks, including the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). It represents Colombia, along with institutions from Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, in the alliance of National Cancer Institutes of Latin America (INC-LATAM). It is also a member of the Latin American Alliance of Oncology Institutes (OLACI), which, with OECI’s support, aims to foster cooperation and the exchange of best practices among its members.

Additionally, it coordinates the National Cancer Research Network (RNIC), supporting cancer knowledge management in Colombia, and was recently recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a regional anchor center.

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MinCiencias) acknowledged it as a research center and approved 12 research groups with diverse approaches and specialties for cancer research. On average, 40 new studies in public health, research, and development and innovation are approved each year, supported by physical and technological infrastructure such as the Terry Fox National Tumor Bank. The INC publishes its academic work in the journal Revista Colombiana de Cancerología.

Education

The teaching process at the University Hospital of the INC aims to design, develop, evaluate, and improve programs, projects, and activities for training human resources in cancer control nationwide, ensuring timeliness, quality, continuity, and relevance. To this end, it employs standardized procedures, from establishing teaching agreements with higher education institutions and developing human resources training activities for cancer control across the country to monitoring, evaluating, and continuously improving the process, all aimed at maintaining the standards established for university hospitals nationwide.