Huntsman Cancer Institute Quick Facts
The mission of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is to understand cancer from its beginnings, use that knowledge in the creation and improvement of cancer treatments, relieve the suffering of cancer patients, and provide education about cancer risk, prevention, and care.
- In 1995, the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman family pledged $100 million to construct a state-of-the-art cancer center, formally establishing and naming Huntsman Cancer Institute.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West. By serving Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming, it provides care to the largest geographic region of any center.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute expands its reach through several community clinics in the surrounding area and six affiliate hospitals in neighboring states.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute is owned by the state of Utah and designated by the state legislature as its official cancer center.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute’s campus in Salt Lake City includes state-of-the-art cancer research space and a cancer hospital that utilizes a team approach to cancer care.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute operates clinics that focus on patients with a family history of breast, colon, skin, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
- More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center in the world. These include genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, skin, and head and neck cancers.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute operates the largest and most comprehensive Phase 1 clinical cancer research program in the region. This includes approximately 325 clinical trials open to patients.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute has 263 research teams studying all aspects of cancer.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute has provided patient and prevention education to more than one million residents from every state and six continents.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute manages the Utah Population Database (UPDB), the largest genetic database in the world. The UPDB includes information on more than 11 million people, linked to genealogies and health, birth, death, and marriage records.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute operates a Cancer Screening and Education Bus that travels across Utah to perform mammograms and educate communities on cancer prevention and screening.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute launched the world’s first cancer hospital-at-home model. Called Huntsman at Home™, the service extends hospital-level cancer care to the patient’s home. The program began in Salt Lake City and was expanded to three rural Utah counties in 2021.
By the Numbers: 2024
Research
Clinical Trials
Patient Care
Total, all locations
Huntsman Cancer Foundation Quick Facts
- In 1995, the Jon and Karen Huntsman family started Huntsman Cancer Foundation to ensure the future of cutting-edge research at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.
- Huntsman Cancer Foundation’s sole purpose is to raise funds to support the mission of Huntsman Cancer Institute.
All Huntsman Cancer Institute fundraising initiatives occur through Huntsman Cancer Foundation, a public, functionally integrated, Type III 501(c)(3) organization. - Due to the generosity of the Huntsman family in underwriting all fundraising expenses, 100% of all donations support the mission of Huntsman Cancer Institute.
- Huntsman Cancer Foundation’s Board of Directors are Chairman and CEO Peter Huntsman, University of Utah President Taylor R. Randall, PhD, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Zions First National Bank A. Scott Anderson.
- One family cannot do it alone. Huntsman Cancer Foundation enjoys the support of more than one million donors.
- Through Huntsman Cancer Foundation’s Huntsman Heroes program, individuals and teams run, walk, ride, and fundraise while participating in events like 5Ks, marathons, and 140-mile bike rides.
- Huntsman Cancer Foundation holds fundraising events each year. Its signature event, Huntsman SportsFest, includes walking, running, cycling, and other ways to honor loved ones and support cancer research at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
- The Huntsman Cancer Foundation Gala is an annual event that brings together donors and community members to celebrate the work of Huntsman Cancer Institute and raise funds for Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mission.
- In 2005, Sigma Chi International Fraternity designated Huntsman Cancer Foundation as its preferred philanthropic partner. Sigma Chi fulfilled an $11 million pledge in February 2020. In June 2019, Sigma Chi pledged an additional $20 million to support women’s cancer research and treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute. To date, Sigma Chi has raised more than $24 million in support of Huntsman Cancer Institute.
2024 Cancer Facts
Sources: American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, American Association for Cancer Research
- In the United States, approximately 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetimes.
- Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, trailing only heart disease.
- This year, a little over two million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the United States.
- This year, 611,720 people in the United States are expected to die of cancer—about 1,680 people per day.
- Cancer is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1–14.
- The greatest risk factor for cancer is age. In the United States, 88% of people diagnosed with cancer are 50 years old or older.
This year, 53,560 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the Mountain West:
- Idaho: 11,120
- Montana, 7,310
- Nevada: 18,250
- Utah: 13,560
- Wyoming: 3,320
This year, 15,970 people in the Mountain West are expected to die of cancer—about 44 people per day.
- Idaho: 3,200
- Montana: 2,230
- Nevada: 5,440
- Utah: 3,780
- Wyoming: 1,320
This year, the expected top diagnosed cancer for each state in the Mountain West are:
- Idaho: breast (1,730)
- Montana: breast (1,070) and prostate (1,070)
- Nevada: breast (2,880)
- Utah: prostate (2,380)
- Wyoming: prostate (570)
- At least 42% of newly diagnosed cancers are potentially preventable. About 19% of these cases are caused by smoking and 18% are caused by a combination of excess body weight, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity. Additionally, certain cancers caused by infectious agents, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, could be prevented through behavioral changes, vaccination, or by treating the infection.
- Cancer screening is known to increase survival rates for cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix, lung, and prostate. In addition, being aware of changes in the body and discussing them with a health care provider may result in earlier detection.
Racial and ethnic disparities in the cancer burden largely reflect long-standing inequities in socioeconomic status and access to high-quality health care, which can be attributed to historical and persistent structural racism in the United States experienced by all people of color.
Individuals that live in rural and frontier areas have higher average death rates for all cancer sites combined compared to populations in urban counties. Additionally, rural counties have higher incidence and death rates for cancer associated with smoking and higher rates of incidence of cancer that can be prevented by screening.
LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other sexual identifies and orientations) individuals are vulnerable to cancer disparities due to a higher prevalence of cancer risk factors, such as smoking, likely in part because of stress caused by systemic discrimination.
- Cancer death rates are higher among people with lower socioeconomic status—often measured in terms of income, education, and/or health insurance coverage—and the gap is widening.
- There are an estimated 18 million cancer survivors in the United States.
- The National Cancer Institute estimates that cancer-related medical costs in the United States were $208.9 billion in 2020, but this is likely an underestimate, as it does not take into account the growing cost of treatment.
Cancer Progress
- According to the National Cancer Institute, overall cancer death rates fell in every gender, age group, and racial group between 2015 and 2019.
- Between 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 15 new anticancer therapeutics.
- The American Association for Cancer Research highlights that there have been vast improvements in surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, molecularly targeted therapy, and immunotherapy—known as the five pillars of cancer care.
The Area We Serve
In 2021, Huntsman Cancer Institute formalized its longstanding commitment to the Mountain West—Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming—in advancing cancer prevention, education, research, and care. This commitment means Huntsman Cancer Institute formally works to reduce the cancer burden of the entire Mountain West—from research and access to clinical care, to training and education, to community outreach and engagement.
The Area We Serve is part of a National Cancer Institute requirement for all cancer centers to outline its catchment area, a term used to describe the region where a cancer center focuses its efforts. Huntsman Cancer Institute has made a longstanding commitment to cancer patients in the Mountain West through cancer prevention, cancer screening, cancer education, access to clinical trials, telemedicine, and research into improving care for cancer patients in frontier and rural areas.
The expanded area of service builds on decades of effort by Huntsman Cancer Institute and dedicated local providers and care teams. This includes a network of six affiliate hospitals that raise the standard of cancer care in our region.
Here are some of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s longstanding programs that serve Mountain West residents:
Cancer Research and Education
Coalitions led by Huntsman Cancer Institute bring regional health experts and researchers together to reduce cancer incidence. Additionally, Huntsman Cancer Institute supports training of students, K–12 teachers, early-career cancer researchers, and care providers across the region.
Clinical Trials
Researchers work to improve cancer care, prevention, access, and quality of life for patients throughout our region. This includes access to clinical trials that test innovative new approaches, as well as programs that provide transportation and lodging support for patients who travel long distances.
Recent Expansions and Projects Underway
Huntsman Cancer Institute Vineyard Campus
- The Huntsman Cancer Institute Vineyard Campus will be the Mountain West’s second comprehensive cancer center.
- The new location will further Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mission of addressing distance as a disparity. Travel time for many patients will be reduced by more than 2 hours per visit, of more than 35,000 visits per year.
- The campus will sit on a 20-acre site in one of the fastest growing counties in Utah and the United States.
- Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Utah and the Mountain West region. This campus will create new possibilities for cancer research, prevention, and treatments.
- Located near Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University, and the Silicon Slopes tech hub, the new campus will help in supporting new training opportunities and workforce development for up-and-coming health care providers and scientists.
- Both cancer screening services and a clinical care facility will be available.
- Research planned at the Vineyard campus will include state-of-the-art clinical trials for cancer patients, with enhanced access for those who live far from a major medical center.
- The Vineyard campus will use innovative health delivery methods, including digital oncology, artificial intelligence, and telehealth.
- Major donors for the project include Woodbury Corporation and Flagship Companies, in partnership with the City of Vineyard, the Utah Legislature, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Huntsman Foundation.
The Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers
- The Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers expands space at Huntsman Cancer Institute by 220,000 square feet.
- Major donors for the building include the Spencer and Kristen Kirk family, Huntsman Foundation, Scott and Karen Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sigma Chi International Fraternity, dōTERRA, Erlynn and J. Christopher Lansing, Khalid and Sally Alturki, PhD, and Ashley and Neil Hafer. An additional 275 donors have made major gifts to support this expansion.
- The building includes an entire floor dedicated to breast and gynecologic cancers, a new endoscopy center, an expanded wellness and integrative health center, 48 inpatient rooms, 4 operating rooms, and a new blood and marrow cancer treatment space.
- The expansion features 160 art pieces from more than 25 Indigenous Nations and includes weavings, basketry, wearables, ceramics, jewelry, sculptures, and carvings.
- Exterior walkways and skybridges connect the Kathryn F. Kirk Center to the current cancer hospital and research space.
- The Kathryn F. Kirk Center was designed by Architectural Nexus and built by Layton Construction.
- Construction costs were $178 million.
Recent Discoveries and Innovations
2024
Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator Tracy Onega, PhD, MS, MA, MPAS, facilitated a Community Health Assessment Survey to better understand the area we serve. The first-of-its-kind survey revealed that residents in rural and frontier areas of the Mountain West face significant barriers to health care.
Our scientists also made significant strides in women’s health, including the development of a new testing mechanism for an aggressive form of breast cancer. Research teams also discovered high-risk connections between early menopause and breast cancer, as well as endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Huntsman Cancer Institute also debuted the first and only single-port surgical robot in the Mountain West for head and neck oncological patients.
2023
Huntsman Cancer Institute researchers sought new therapies with novel uses of existing cancer drugs. Neeraj Agarwal, FASCO, MD, received fast-tracked Food and Drug Administration approval for a new prostate cancer regimen that combines two tested chemotherapy drugs. Christopher Gregg, PhD, a metastatic breast cancer patient, used his own experience to develop an algorithm that uses artificial intelligence to accurately measure patient symptoms from vocal and behavioral information captured via smartphone. The prototype will help oncologists determine the right medication dose that avoids drug toxicity.
2022
Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators identified disparities in cancer health care, both in genetic testing and radiation treatment.
2021
Huntsman Cancer Institute expands the area we serve beyond the state of Utah, welcoming Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming into our National Cancer Institute (NCI) service area. Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators also made significant strides in melanoma research, from understanding the origins of the skin disease, to better diagnosis methods and targeted therapies. Utah has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the country.
Milestones
2024
Huntsman Cancer Institute celebrates its 25th year. The institute’s next step is to deepen its impact in the Mountain West through its second comprehensive cancer campus in Vineyard, Utah.
2023
Huntsman Cancer Institute opens the new hospital expansion, the Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers, to patients.
2021
The Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute opens for patients.
2020
Huntsman Cancer Institute expands its Huntsman at Home™ program, the world’s first cancer hospital-at-home model, to rural Utah counties.
2019
Huntsman Cancer Institute breaks ground on the Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers.
2017
The Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute opens, doubling research capacity.
2016
Vice President Joe Biden visits Huntsman Cancer Institute to discuss the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
2015
National Cancer Institute awards Comprehensive Cancer Center status, the highest national designation possible, to Huntsman Cancer Institute.
2011
A major expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Hospital opens, doubling clinical capacity.
2007
Cancer Center member Mario Capecchi, PhD, wins Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for gene targeting research.
2004
Huntsman Cancer Institute Hospital opens, featuring first full-field digital mammography unit, PET/CT imaging unit, and facial prosthetics lab. It is the only dedicated cancer hospital in the Mountain West.
2001
Construction begins on new hospital with generous donation from Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.
1999
Jon M. Huntsman Research Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute is dedicated; patient clinics open.
1997
Huntsman Cancer Institute joins the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of the world’s leading cancer centers dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to cancer patients.
1996
Huntsman Cancer Institute breaks ground for a 231,118-square-foot research, treatment, and education facility.
1995
The Huntsman family pledges $100 million to construct a state-of-the-art Cancer Center, formally establishing Huntsman Cancer Institute.
1994
The Cancer Center receives custodianship of the Utah Population Database (UPDB), a resource for biomedical research that contains health and vital statistics records from several generations of Utah families.
1993
Jon M. and Karen Huntsman donate $10 million to the University of Utah to establish a cancer institute.
1986
The cancer program at the University of Utah earns National Cancer Institute designation as a Cancer Center, with an emphasis on genetics research as a way to understand, diagnose, and treat cancer.
Our Founders
Jon and Karen Huntsman
Huntsman Cancer Institute Founders
Jon M. Huntsman, a native of Blackfoot, Idaho, was the Founder and Executive Chairman of Huntsman Corporation, a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals.
Mr. Huntsman began a small entrepreneurial plastics packaging business. Originally known for pioneering innovations in packaging and, later, for rapid and integrated growth in petrochemicals, its operating companies manufacture chemical products used in a wide range of industries, with offices in multiple locations worldwide.
Jon Huntsman’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at 53. He held her in his arms when she passed away at the age of 58. When she died, Jon said, “Someday, I’m going to make a difference in cancer.”
A four-time cancer survivor himself, Jon recognized the need for better treatments and research. Karen and Jon committed to doing all they could to improve outcomes for those impacted by cancer. In 1995, the Huntsman family made a generous gift, creating the institute. The first research building was dedicated in 1999.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy placed Mr. Huntsman second on their 2007 list of largest donors. In 2011, Forbes Magazine counted him among the 18 “most generous givers on the planet.”
The Huntsman family’s early contributions to Huntsman Cancer Institute amounted to $225 million. Huntsman Cancer Institute is now one of America's major cancer centers. Dedicated to finding a cure, the facility features leading-edge research laboratories and a state-of-the-art hospital treating cancer patients. Today, approximately $1.5 billion has been directed to the building of Huntsman Cancer Institute, including nearly half of which comes from philanthropy.
Mr. Huntsman passed away on February 2, 2018.
Jon and Karen Huntsman have nine children, 56 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren.
Peter R. Huntsman
Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation
Peter Huntsman is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals. Huntsman Corporation operates more than 60 facilities in approximately 30 countries and employs approximately 7,000 people.
In addition, Mr. Huntsman is the Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation (HCF). HCF raises funds and supports the ongoing research, treatment, and educational programs of the world-renowned Huntsman Cancer Institute. He is also CEO of the Huntsman Foundation, a private foundation focused on cancer care, mental health, homelessness, and a variety of other projects to improve society.
Mr. Huntsman is involved as a member of various executive boards and councils.
He and his wife are the parents of eight children and have 19 grandchildren.