Cancer CareOctober 24, 2025

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center named among nation’s best for cancer care

By Stephanie Winn

(SACRAMENTO)

Patients across Northern California have even more reason to feel confident in their cancer care. UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has been named to Becker’s Healthcare 2025 list of hospitals and health systems recognized for excellence in oncology.

This honor recognizes cancer centers that are leading the way in innovation, safety and groundbreaking research. UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center stands out as the only National Cancer Institute-designated center serving inland Northern California. It cares for over 100,000 adults and children each year.

Patients benefit from access to nearly 300 clinical trials, including early-phase trials through the Sacramento Citywide Oncology Phase I Program. The center also manufactures CAR T-cells on site, which is unique among University of California campuses. This helps to bring leading-edge therapies closer to home.

UC Davis is advancing precision medicine, developing tools like EXPLORER, the world’s first total-body PET scanner, and pairing robotic bronchoscopy with 3D imaging to detect lung cancer earlier. In 2025, cancer researchers moved into the new $1 billion Aggie Square innovation district’s “cancer research hub” to accelerate discoveries with industry partners.

Equity is central to the cancer center’s mission, with outreach programs like MobileMammo+ bringing breast cancer screening to rural communities. It also has one of the few comparative oncology programs in the country using insights from pet dogs to improve human treatments.

For patients, this recognition brings a promise of compassionate, world-class care backed by science, innovation and a commitment to health equity.

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated center serving the Central Valley and inland Northern California, a region of more than 6 million people. Its specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care for more than 100,000 adults and children every year and access to more than 200 active clinical trials at any given time. Its innovative research program engages more than 240 scientists at UC Davis who work collaboratively to advance discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat cancer. Patients have access to leading-edge care, including immunotherapy and other targeted treatments. Its Office of Community Outreach and Engagement addresses disparities in cancer outcomes across diverse populations, and the cancer center provides comprehensive education and workforce development programs for the next generation of clinicians and scientists. For more information, visit cancer.ucdavis.edu.