# Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern

Source: https://onco.cc/institutions/utsw-simmons/  
OnCo record `utsw-simmons` (Institution). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

North Texas's NCI comprehensive centre, where the HIF-2 inhibitor belzutifan, stereotactic body radiotherapy and the cGAS-STING pathway were born.

## Summary

NCI-designated in 2010 and comprehensive since 2015, Simmons is the only NCI comprehensive centre in North Texas and is directed by breast oncologist Carlos Arteaga. James Brugarolas's kidney cancer programme and the UTSW spin-out Peloton Therapeutics produced the HIF-2 alpha inhibitor belzutifan, acquired by Merck in 2019 and approved for VHL disease and renal cell carcinoma. Robert Timmerman pioneered stereotactic body radiotherapy for lung and other tumours, and Zhijian 'James' Chen discovered the cGAS-STING innate immune sensing pathway that STING agonists exploit. Ralph DeBerardinis's cancer metabolism work at Children's Medical Center Research Institute adds a strong basic science programme.

## Fields

- Kind: Institution
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: Simmons Cancer Center
- City: Dallas, TX, US
- Type: cancer-center
- NCI designation: comprehensive
- Website: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/departments/simmons/

## Sources

- Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/departments/simmons/

## Connected records

- cancers: [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Renal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/rcc/)
- fronts: [Radiation Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiation/)
- technologies: [Metabolic therapy: starving the tumour of a nutrient](https://onco.cc/technologies/metabolic-therapy/), [SBRT / SABR (stereotactic radiotherapy)](https://onco.cc/technologies/sbrt/), [STING & innate immune agonists](https://onco.cc/technologies/sting-agonist/)
- targets: [HIF-2α](https://onco.cc/targets/hif2a/)
- drugs: [Belzutifan](https://onco.cc/drugs/belzutifan/)
- companies: [Merck & Co. (MSD)](https://onco.cc/companies/merck/)
- terms: [Oligometastatic disease](https://onco.cc/terms/oligometastatic/)
- people: [Robert D. Timmerman](https://onco.cc/people/robert-timmerman/)
- key papers: [Whole-exome sequencing of pancreatic cancer defines genetic diversity and therapeutic targets](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-witkiewicz-pancreatic-exomes-utsw-nat-commun-2015/)
- institutions: [National Cancer Institute (NIH)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nci/)

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