The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
The world's leading cancer-only hospital, ranked #1 in US News & World Report for cancer care every year since 2015-16 and #1 in Newsweek's World's Best Specialized Hospitals in oncology, with the world's largest cancer clinical trials programme, a Nobel-affiliated immunotherapy institute, a dedicated proton therapy centre, and structured international patient services for patients from over 100 countries.
About MD Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is the world's most prominent cancer-only hospital and one of the largest cancer centers globally. Founded in 1941 by the Texas state legislature as part of the University of Texas System and named after Houston cotton merchant and philanthropist Monroe Dunaway Anderson, whose nephew died of leukemia, MD Anderson admitted its first cancer patients in 1944 from a converted carriage house near downtown Houston.
The institution later moved to the Texas Medical Center in central Houston, the world's largest medical district, where it now operates a roughly 700-bed cancer-only hospital spread across its North, Mid, and South campuses, including the Alkek Hospital, the Mays Clinic, the Children's Cancer Hospital, and the James P. Allison Institute. In 1971, MD Anderson became one of the three original NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers under the National Cancer Act and today employs more than 21,000 staff, including over 1,800 faculty.
MD Anderson treats more than 150,000 cancer patients in Houston each year and has cared for over 2.1 million patients since 1944. One hundred percent of its surgeons are trained in oncology, compared with roughly 30% at community hospitals, and pathologists at MD Anderson refine a new patient's initial diagnosis from another institution in up to 25% of cases. The institution operates the world's largest cancer clinical trials programme, with hundreds of open studies across every major cancer type, including phase 1 first-in-human trials, and approximately 70% of all FDA-approved cancer drugs in fiscal year 2025 were tested at MD Anderson.
Clinical capabilities span the full spectrum of cancer care: solid tumor oncology (lung, breast, GI, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, prostate, gynecologic, head and neck, and brain); hematologic malignancies, pediatric oncology, CAR T-cell therapy, proton therapy through the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center, advanced radiation oncology, robotic and minimally invasive surgery, and one of the world's most comprehensive cancer prevention programmes through the Lyda Hill Cancer Prevention Center.
MD Anderson has been ranked the #1 hospital for cancer care in the US News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings every year since 2015-16, and has been among the top two cancer centres every year since the survey began in 1990. Newsweek named MD Anderson the World's Best Specialized Hospital in oncology in 2024. The institution is one of 33 member institutions of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), holds seven NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants (brain, gastrointestinal, hepatocellular carcinoma, lymphoma outcomes, melanoma, ovarian and sarcoma) plus a joint lung SPORE with UT Southwestern, and invested $1.3 billion in research in fiscal year 2025.
In 2018, Professor James P. Allison, Chair of Immunology at MD Anderson, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Tasuku Honjo for the discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation, the foundational work behind immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The institution is now home to the James P. Allison Institute for cancer immunotherapy and the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, established in 2011 with a $150 million gift from the United Arab Emirates.
CancerFax works with families considering MD Anderson alongside other leading international cancer centres, helping international and Indian patients understand whether MD Anderson is the right clinical and financial fit before committing to long-distance travel and US treatment costs. Our coordination service covers preliminary case review and second opinion submission to MD Anderson's International Center, US medical visa support documentation, comparative cost estimates against other top centres in the US, India, China, South Korea, Singapore and the UAE, accredited translation of foreign-language reports, accommodation and travel guidance in the Texas Medical Center area, and an honest conversation about whether MD Anderson's typically higher costs are justified by trial access or specialised expertise unavailable elsewhere. CancerFax charges patients nothing for this navigation, regardless of which hospital is ultimately chosen.
| Hospital at a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| City | Houston, Texas (Texas Medical Center) |
| Established | 1941 (NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center since 1971) |
| Hospital Type | Public Comprehensive Cancer Hospital · Part of The University of Texas System |
| Accreditation | NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center · NCCN Member Institution · #1 US News Best Hospitals for Cancer (2015-16 to 2025-26) |
| Beds | ~700 cancer-only inpatient beds |
| Annual Patient Activity | 150,000+ cancer patients in Houston annually; 2.1M+ patients cared for since 1944 |
| Research Focus | Solid tumour oncology, hematologic malignancies, immunotherapy, CAR-T cell therapy, proton therapy, cancer prevention, cancer genomics |
Why Patients Choose MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson is the world's most consistently top-ranked cancer-only hospital, with deep sub-specialist expertise across virtually every cancer type, the world's largest cancer clinical trials programme, and Nobel-laureate immunotherapy leadership backed by an established international patient programme.
Cancer Specialties and Clinical Departments
MD Anderson is organised by disease site rather than by traditional medical, surgical and radiation boundaries, with dedicated centres for every major cancer type and a pediatric cancer hospital, supported by an integrated research and clinical trials infrastructure.
Advanced Treatment Capabilities
Key Specialists at MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson employs more than 21,000 staff including over 1,800 faculty, with 100% of surgeons trained in oncology and the majority of physicians sub-specialised in a single tumour type. The institution is led by President Peter WT Pisters, MD. Globally renowned MD Anderson faculty include Nobel Laureate Professor James P. Allison, Chair of Immunology, awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation, the foundational work behind immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The institute's clinical departments are organised by disease site, ensuring that every complex case is managed by a true sub-specialist multidisciplinary team rather than by general oncologists.
MD Anderson's disease-specific care centres include the Cancer Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma, the Leukemia Center, the GI Cancer Center, the Breast Cancer Center, the Thoracic Center, the Brain and Spine Center, the Gynecologic Oncology Center, the Genitourinary Cancer Center, the Head and Neck Center, the Sarcoma Center, the Melanoma and Skin Center, the Endocrine Center, and the Children's Cancer Hospital. Patients seeking a specific physician consultation or a multidisciplinary second opinion may submit their request through the CancerFax coordination process. We work with MD Anderson's International Center to match each case to the appropriate department before any travel is committed, and we will tell you openly if a different centre would serve your case equally well at materially lower cost.
Patients seeking specific physician consultations or second opinions may request a review through the CancerFax coordination process before confirming travel or admission.
Clinical Infrastructure and Treatment Technology
MD Anderson's Texas Medical Center campus integrates a roughly 700-bed cancer-only hospital with research-grade laboratories, a dedicated proton therapy centre, advanced cellular therapy facilities and the world's largest cancer clinical trials infrastructure.
- MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center delivering pencil-beam scanning proton therapy for pediatric, CNS, head and neck, prostate, GI and re-irradiation indications
- Advanced photon radiotherapy including IMRT, IGRT, VMAT, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS and SBRT) and brachytherapy
- Intraoperative radiation therapy for select solid tumour indications
- Active CAR T-cell therapy programme using FDA-approved products for B-cell ALL, B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma, plus investigational CAR-T, TCR-T and other cellular therapy protocols
- James P. Allison Institute leading research and clinical translation in cancer immunotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations
- World's largest cancer clinical trials programme with hundreds of open phase 1 to phase 4 studies
- 100% oncology-trained surgical workforce across all surgical disciplines
- High-volume robotic and minimally invasive cancer surgery for prostate, gynecologic, GI, head and neck, urologic and thoracic indications
- Sub-specialist surgical teams organised by disease site rather than by traditional surgical boundaries
- Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (established 2011 with a $150 million UAE gift)
- Comprehensive molecular tumour profiling, hereditary cancer genetic testing and biomarker-driven trial matching
- Specialised Second Opinion Pathology service that refines outside diagnoses in up to 25% of new patient cases
International Patient Support at MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson's International Center provides structured services for patients from over 100 countries, including pre-arrival case review, second opinion appointments, US visa documentation support, in-hospital interpretation in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and English, and on-campus accommodation through Rotary House International.
What to Prepare Before Traveling
- arrow_rightShare complete pathology reports, biopsy slides (often required for MD Anderson's specialist Second Opinion Pathology review), recent imaging (CT, PET-CT, MRI), molecular profiling, prior treatment summaries and current medications in English with MD Anderson's International Center at least two to three weeks before your planned consultation date.
- arrow_rightApply for a US Medical (B-2) visitor visa at the US embassy or consulate in your country. MD Anderson can issue the official invitation letter for the patient and accompanying family members; visa interview wait times in many countries are significant, so plan well ahead and consider a remote second opinion first.
- arrow_rightPlan travel via George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) or William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), and consider booking accommodation at Rotary House International on the MD Anderson campus or other nearby Texas Medical Center hotels. Plan for a stay of at least several weeks for evaluation and initial treatment, with longer stays needed for surgery, BMT or CAR-T.
MD Anderson's International Center can be reached directly through the official site at mdanderson.org, and the hospital offers language services in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and English. CancerFax coordinates all communication with the International Center on your behalf, including translation, visa documentation, video consultations and transparent comparisons against alternative top centres, and remains your single point of contact through evaluation, treatment and follow-up at no cost to you.
Patient Facilities and Accommodation at MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson's Texas Medical Center campus combines hospital-grade cancer-only clinical care with on-campus accommodation, multiple dining options, an in-house pharmacy and structured patient experience support across the North, Mid and South campuses.
Family members accompanying international patients typically stay at Rotary House International on the MD Anderson campus or at one of the many Texas Medical Center hotels, all within a short walk or shuttle ride of the main hospital buildings. The International Center can advise on extended-stay arrangements for longer treatment journeys, and CancerFax can help plan budget-conscious options for families on extended trips.
How to Reach MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson's main campus is in the Texas Medical Center in central Houston, the largest medical district in the world, served by two international airports and well connected to downtown Houston by highway and the METRORail Red Line.
How CancerFax Helps
CancerFax is a specialist cancer access and patient-navigation platform. We help patients and families understand their options, organise medical records, coordinate hospital communication, and support cross-border treatment planning where appropriate.
We help collect and organise reports, scans, pathology, biomarker results, and treatment history for structured case review.
We communicate with hospitals or trial teams to assess whether a case may be suitable for further screening.
We support appointment coordination, document submission, translation, and direct communication with international departments.
For international patients, we help with practical coordination — travel planning, hospital admission guidance, and local support.
If this option is not suitable, we help explore other relevant treatments, clinical trials, or advanced care pathways.
From inquiry through to follow-up, our coordinators provide a single point of contact for the family.
CancerFax does not guarantee treatment access, eligibility, or clinical outcome. Our role is to help patients access accurate information, structured review, and appropriate specialist pathways.
MD Anderson Cancer Center — Patient Questions Answered
CancerFax acts as your dedicated coordinator for the entire MD Anderson journey. You begin by sharing your medical records, including pathology reports, biopsy slides where available, scans and prior treatment summaries through our secure intake. Our clinical team reviews your case and identifies whether MD Anderson is the right clinical and financial fit for your diagnosis, taking into account US-level treatment costs compared with high-quality alternatives in India, China, South Korea, Singapore and the UAE, and identifies the right MD Anderson disease-specific centre. We then submit your case to MD Anderson's International Center and work with their team to secure the right consultation or remote second opinion.
Once your appointment is confirmed, CancerFax prepares your full pre-travel pack: cost estimates from MD Anderson (shared with you without any CancerFax mark-up), US Medical (B-2) visa support documentation, accredited translation of your home-country reports, guidance on Rotary House International or Texas Medical Center accommodation, and a clear plan for the typically longer evaluation timelines that come with US-based cancer care. We remain your single point of contact through admission, treatment and follow-up, and we will tell you honestly if a different centre would serve your case equally well at materially lower cost. There is no fee to the patient for any of this coordination.
MD Anderson is the world's most prominent cancer-only hospital and is genuinely best known for breadth and depth across virtually every cancer type, rather than for any single one. The institution is US News High Performing in colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, leukemia/lymphoma/myeloma, lung cancer surgery and prostate cancer surgery. Beyond surgery, MD Anderson is internationally regarded for hematologic malignancies, brain and CNS tumours, sarcomas, melanoma, gastrointestinal cancers (including hepatocellular carcinoma, where it holds an NCI SPORE grant), ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer and pediatric oncology through its dedicated Children's Cancer Hospital. Advanced therapy access includes CAR T-cell therapy, proton therapy through the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center, immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations (a field MD Anderson's Nobel laureate Dr. James P. Allison helped found) and hundreds of clinical trials. If you are unsure whether MD Anderson is the right fit for your specific diagnosis, share your records through CancerFax and we will assess departmental fit and likely cost before any travel commitment.
Yes. The MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center is one of the most established proton therapy centres in the United States, treating a wide range of pediatric, central nervous system, head and neck, prostate, GI and re-irradiation cases where the dosimetric advantages of protons matter most. MD Anderson runs an active CAR T-cell therapy programme using FDA-approved products for B-cell ALL, B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma, plus a wide range of investigational CAR-T, TCR-T and other cellular therapy protocols across both hematologic and selected solid tumour indications. The institution operates the world's largest cancer clinical trials programme, and approximately 70% of all FDA-approved cancer drugs in FY25 were tested at MD Anderson. CancerFax submits your records to MD Anderson's clinical trials office to confirm whether a specific protocol matches your case, and can also compare proton therapy and CAR-T options at alternative centres in the US, Asia or the Middle East where cost is a major consideration.
Yes. MD Anderson offers structured second opinion appointments through the International Center and the institution's dedicated Second Opinion Pathology service, which is particularly valued by international patients given that MD Anderson pathologists refine new patient diagnoses from outside institutions in up to 25% of cases. The standard process involves submitting your scans, pathology reports, biopsy slides where requested for pathology re-review, and prior treatment summaries in English. CancerFax facilitates this submission, follows up on your behalf, and helps you understand the resulting opinion, including how it compares with treatment plans from other top centres. Given typical US visa interview wait times in many countries, a remote second opinion is often the best first step before any commitment to travel to Houston.
Treatment at MD Anderson is meaningfully more expensive than at high-quality cancer centres in India, China, South Korea, Singapore or the UAE, often by a factor of three to ten depending on the procedure, reflecting US healthcare pricing rather than any difference in clinical capability at most centres of excellence. MD Anderson accepts many US insurance plans and, for international patients, typically requires a substantial deposit before treatment begins along with detailed pre-treatment cost estimates. CancerFax shares MD Anderson's official cost estimates with you at no extra charge and without any CancerFax mark-up. We will also openly compare those estimates with comparable treatment plans at other leading international cancer centres, so the decision about where to receive treatment is grounded in clinical fit and realistic affordability, not in brand alone. If you have international health insurance, we can advise on which procedures and plans are commonly approved for MD Anderson treatment.
Send Your Medical Reports to MD Anderson Cancer Center via CancerFax
CancerFax reviews your records, identifies the right MD Anderson disease-specific centre, and coordinates your consultation or remote second opinion in Houston, at no cost, with no obligation, and with full medical confidentiality throughout.