The University of Hawaii Cancer Center is celebrating a milestone today: the renewal of its full, five-year designation from the National Cancer Institute.

The designation is a federal rating, through a rigorous evaluation process, that recognizes the center for meeting the highest standards of leadership in research, training and education in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

With it comes a support grant of $11 million from NCI to help fund further research at the center for another five years.

“It’s really a hallmark of the quality of research that we do,” said Dr. Naoto Ueno, UH Cancer Center director. “This NCI designation affirms not only our groundbreaking research into cancer’s causes and treatments, but also our unique focus on serving underrepresented communities in Hawaii and the Pacific, who often face significant disparities in cancer risk, patient care and health outcomes.”

The UH Cancer Center has maintained its NCI designation continuously since 1996, with this year’s score being the best received in a decade.

“In our latest evaluation we were recognized for making significant advances particularly in cancer biology and population sciences,” said Ueno in a statement. “The five-year renewal recognizes the depth and breadth of our research, and our center’s impact on the cancer field.”

In the next five years, Ueno, a two-time cancer survivor himself, said he looks forward to continuing to grow the center’s cutting- edge research and working to develop new drugs for fighting cancer, and hopes to expand clinical trials to neighbor isles.

He said the designation will help the UH Cancer Center continue its work toward completing Ho‘ola, a new, early-phase clinical research center.

Ho‘ola, expected to open in late 2025 at the UH Cancer Center, would give Hawaii patients the opportunity to receive innovative Phase 1 clinical-trial cancer treatments here at home instead of having to travel out of state.

“The center has been serving the people of Hawaii for decades now and we are so excited about Ho‘ola and the impact it will have on our state,” said Michael S. Bruno, UH Manoa provost, in a statement. “For the first time, cancer patients in Hawaii will have access to Phase 1 clinical trial treatments, eliminating the need for costly trips to the continent for cutting- edge treatment. Patients will be able to receive the most advanced cancer care while remaining close to their families and support systems, an invaluable asset in their healing process.”

Gov. Josh Green celebrated the center’s designation, saying that it not only recognizes the outstanding work the UH Cancer Center is doing, but enables federal support, including eligibility for vital research grants.

“The UH Cancer Center currently draws over $57 million annually in federal research funds and contributes to an even larger economic impact for Hawaii,” said Green in a statement. “The UH Cancer Center requires and deserves support from all sectors of the community to continue its crucial work.”

On a more personal level, the center has played a pivotal role in the lives of many cancer survivors in Hawaii.

Mari Martin, 32, says she is alive and healthy today thanks to the availability of clinical trial treatment through the UH Cancer Center.

As a young child, Martin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia — a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

“My family wanted to be able to get treatment here in the state,” she said, “and the cancer center had a number of clinical trials. One fit the needs of my diagnosis, the treatment protocol was what I needed and we opted to go with that.”

After 2-1/2 years of treatment, Martin was in remission, and continues to remain clear of cancer.

She says her family is forever grateful, not only for access to the clinical trials at home, which allowed her to continue going to her school, but for the connection to a community of other survivors formed through the center.

“A lot of childhood cancer survivors have kept in touch with one another over the years,” said Martin, who is now a mother of a young child herself.

Learning of a cancer diagnosis was an unimaginable nightmare for all their families, she said, and that experience “connects us and helps to remind us of what a challenging time we made it through.”

She continues to participate in a long-term study for the UH Cancer Center as a survivor, and returns yearly for checkups and blood work as part of ongoing research.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Hawaii, according to the state Health Department, with more than 7,000 cancer diagnoses reported in the state per year.

Native Hawaiian women have higher rates of breast cancer than other population groups, the department said, while Native Hawaiian men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at a later stage in the disease’s development.

The UH Cancer Center is one of only 72 cancer centers recognized by the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. It is the only NCI- designated cancer center in Hawaii and the Pacific.