Huntsman Cancer Institute

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is the National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center serving Utah, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. The cancer center aims to trailblaze a future without cancer through impactful discovery and innovation in cancer research, clinical care, and access to and delivery of that care. Groundbreaking achievements include advances in precision oncology, data science and artificial intelligence (AI), interdisciplinary research in melanoma prevention and care, lung cancer and tobacco control using state-of-the-art methodologies, and cancer prevention and care in rural and frontier populations through transformative new care models that help overcome distance as a barrier.

Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mission is to understand cancer from its beginnings, to use that knowledge in the creation and improvement of cancer treatments, to relieve the suffering of cancer patients, and to provide education about cancer risk, prevention, and care.

Huntsman Cancer Institute opened its first research building and outpatient clinics in 1999 after a generous donation from the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman family. Several major expansions since then have grown the cancer center to over 1 million square feet of state-of-the-art cancer care and research space, serving patients from six continents.

Leveraging emerging technologies and innovative care delivery models as well as the vast experience from serving patients across the single largest land area of any cancer center in the nation, Huntsman Cancer Institute is a proven authority in extending access to and delivery of cancer care. The institute continues to lead the way in bringing care closer to the communities we serve with plans for a second cancer research and treatment center. It will be located in Utah County, Utah.

Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute

Huntsman Cancer Institute’s commitment to cancer research is deep and enduring. The center’s work spans basic research; translational studies; clinical research, including early-phase clinical trials; and prevention, cancer control, and population-based research.

Huntsman Cancer Institute has more than 650 research projects underway, led by upwards of 290 research teams. The cancer center also offers over 325 open clinical trials, including more than 45 first-in-human clinical trials. Huntsman Cancer Institute offers the largest Phase 1 clinical trials program in the Mountain West. Each year, the center serves over 600 patients as part of these state-of-the-art clinical trials, some of which are available to patients in the institute’s satellite clinics and in neighboring states through six affiliate hospitals in five neighboring states. Three community clinics extend the reach of some of these trials. Huntsman Cancer Institute strives to bring access to top cancer care to rural cancer patients through a program in decentralized clinical trials.

The center has a strong history of research on cancer’s genetic basis and the identification of cancer-causing genes. The institute is home to the Utah Population Database (UPDB), an exceptionally powerful research resource that links data from medical records, genealogy records, and demographic data for 11 million individuals. UPDB is the largest database of its kind in the United States. This information helps researchers identify genetic patterns of cancer in families. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center in the world.

Cancer education and outreach are core components of Huntsman Cancer Institute's mission and are designed to increase access to cancer education, screening, and care for all. Formal cancer education programs serve middle and high school students through junior faculty members. Huntsman Cancer Institute is home to the PathMaker Programs for Cancer Research, which provide laboratory-based opportunities for high school and undergraduate students and their teachers from Utah and the Mountain West, often from rural areas, in biomedical research. We educate and empower the next generation of cancer scientists through a multitude of programs that support individuals from all backgrounds.

Huntsman Cancer Institute advances its research, care, and education goals through extensive Utah and Mountain West partnerships, including supporting Federally Qualified Health Centers and the Intermountain West HPV Vaccination Coalition, a research and advocacy group with over 500 members in 25 states.

Select Scientific Initiatives at Huntsman Cancer Institute

Some of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s key research pillars to address the cancer burden include:

• Rural/Frontier Cancer Needs: Distance is a health care barrier. A person diagnosed with cancer who lives in a rural or frontier county is 10% more likely to die from the disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute’s strategic commitment to improve outcomes for rural and frontier populations in the Mountain West has led to implementation of research for evidence-based smoking cessation strategies, partnering with local organizations across the region and innovative studies of short-course treatments in clinical trials. The center also offers rural patient navigation services, and Huntsman at Home™, a unique cancer hospital at home model. 
• Transformation of Health Care Delivery, including through AI: the opportunities in advancing medicine and health care through artificial intelligence (AI) are vast and rapidly growing. Huntsman Cancer Institute is a recognized leader in innovating in this space and in 2025 held the Frontiers Symposium Cancer Care Delivery, a conference with over 160 attendees from academic centers, non-profits, and industry partners. We specifically focused on overcoming distance as a barrier for rural and frontier communities living across the Mountain West through technologies and AI innovation.
• Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the Mountain West and the third highest in mortality. Huntsman Cancer Institute researchers are tackling this in a variety of ways. Population scientists are working to advance health for all in breast cancer screening by increasing follow-up among women who have an abnormal test. Basic scientists have teamed up with clinicians to advance functional precision oncology, using patient-derived models of breast cancer to predict tumor recurrence and therapy response. Precision oncology clinical trials will evaluate methods of functional drug screening to choose the right drugs for patients earlier in their therapy course.
• Melanoma/Sun Safety:  With the highest melanoma incidence in the United States, the Mountain West presents unique challenges. Huntsman Cancer Institute promotes sun safety through outreach to ski areas and national parks, advocacy for sun safety legislation, and fostering a vibrant community of melanoma researchers. Investments span basic, translational, clinical, and population sciences, driving transformative progress in melanoma care.

* Information on this cancer center profile was provided by the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.