Salk's Cancer Center

An NCI-Designated Cancer Center

Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Salk's Cancer Center - An NCI-Designated Cancer Center

Salk’s Cancer Center


The Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center where Salk’s scientists are finding universal ways to put a stop to the elements that allow tumors to thrive—no matter the cancer type.

Salk scientists look at cancer holistically—focusing not only on the tumor cells themselves, but also on their surrounding tissues, the immune system, the microbes that live within us, and how each individual’s environment and habits influence their risk and therapeutic responses. These are the elements that, together, allow tumors to form, grow, spread, and resist standard therapies.

The Cancer Center is uniquely collaborative, and Salk scientists partner with researchers and doctors from UC San Diego, City of Hope, and other cancer centers worldwide to translate basic research into clinical studies. By uncovering new information about how these elements influence all types of tumors, we are revealing new universal vulnerabilities—vulnerabilities in cancer’s armor—for which we can customize new therapeutic weapons that may apply to many cancers, including pancreatic, brain, lung, and breast.

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