Upstate Medical University Cancer Center

What Upstate Medical University Cancer Center does

Upstate Cancer Center is a comprehensive, multi-program oncology facility operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of SUNY Upstate Medical University, a public academic medical center within the State University of New York system headquartered in Syracuse, New York. Founded as part of the institution's cancer program (with the parent university tracing its College of Medicine roots to 1851), the center delivers the full continuum of cancer services — radiation oncology (Varian TrueBeam, Varian Edge, Gamma Knife), surgical oncology (da Vinci and Mako robotic systems), medical oncology, autologous and allogeneic stem cell/bone marrow transplantation, pediatric oncology through the Waters Center, nuclear medicine, Blue Light Cystoscopy, and supportive/palliative care — to adult and pediatric patients across a 17-county Central New York service area. It holds Commission on Cancer, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, FACT, and ACR accreditations, and participates in the Children's Oncology Group trials network.

The center's underlying technology stack centers on advanced radiation oncology hardware from Varian and Elekta (Gamma Knife), image-guided and stereotactic treatment delivery, and robotic-assisted surgical platforms integrated with Epic MyChart for patient access and EpicCareLink for referring physician workflows. Telemedicine, a 24/7 Upstate Connect nurse triage line, and a multi-site distribution footprint (Downtown Campus, Community Campus, Golisano Children's Hospital, Nappi Wellness Institute, Harrison Center, Health Care Center, and Oswego satellite) underpin patient access across the catchment.

Upstate Cancer Center operates within a non-profit public university model with three revenue streams: patient care services billed through insurance (and supported by financial assistance programs), academic tuition and fees across four colleges (Norton College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Health Professions, College of Graduate Studies), and federal/state research grants (NIH, PCORI, sponsored research) totaling $55M in research investment. The institution is the largest employer in Onondaga County with 11,000 direct employees supporting an additional 7,362 indirect jobs. Go-to-market is a hybrid enterprise field sales motion (physician referrals, Upstate Connect, satellite locations) combined with direct-to-consumer outreach (Find a Doctor, MyChart, HealthLink seminars, Walk with a Doc, Cancer Care Magazine, social media), serving primarily individual cancer patients and regional healthcare professional students as the two primary customer segments.

Name

Upstate Medical University Cancer Center

Legal name

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Website

https://upstate.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1851

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Upstate Cancer Center is the comprehensive oncology division of SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, delivering radiation, surgical, medical, and transplant oncology plus research and education to adult and pediatric patients across a 17-county Central New York catchment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology / Cancer Care Services

NAICS

Other Outpatient Care Centers (62149), Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (622310)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Oncology & Cancer Specialty Hospitals (HLAFAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical Oncology (HLAKAFAB), Radiation Oncology (HLAKAFAC), Surgical Oncology (HLAKAFAG), Thoracic (Lung) Oncology (HLAKAFAL)

Keywords

• Cancer treatment services
• Radiation oncology
• Medical oncology care
• Pediatric cancer care
• Clinical cancer research

Headquarters

HQ city

Syracuse

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Patient Care Services: Comprehensive healthcare services including inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and surgical care billed through insurance and patient payments
2. Academic Education: Tuition and fees from medical, nursing, health professions, and graduate studies programs across four colleges
3. Research Grants and Contracts: Federal and state research funding including NIH grants ($3.1M amyloid research grant, $16.7M PCORI ADHD study contract), PCORI awards, and sponsored research funding totaling $55 million investment

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Upstate Cancer Center provides comprehensive cancer care across the full continuum of diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship for adult and pediatric patients. Core services include radiation oncology, surgical oncology, medical oncology with chemotherapy/immunotherapy/targeted therapy, stem cell and bone marrow transplantation, and access to clinical trials through NCI-aligned research programs. The center is supported by advanced treatment technologies (Varian TrueBeam, Varian Edge, Gamma Knife, da Vinci robotic surgery, Blue Light Cystoscopy) and a full suite of supportive care services including genetics counseling, palliative care, psychosocial oncology, and survivor wellness.

Product overview

Upstate Cancer Center is a comprehensive cancer care facility offering a full spectrum of oncology services organized as a multi-program treatment center. The center provides radiation oncology (using TrueBeam, Varian Edge, and Gamma Knife technologies), surgical oncology (including da Vinci robotic surgery), medical oncology, stem cell transplantation, and pediatric cancer care. Treatment technologies include external beam radiation, IMRT, RapidArc, SBRT, IGRT, and various brachytherapy options. The center offers cancer-specific programs for breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, head and neck, melanoma, neuro-oncology, and other cancer types, supported by clinical trials, genetics counseling, screening programs, and extensive support services. Patient access is facilitated through Epic MyChart and EpicCareLink portals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Upstate Cancer Center: Comprehensive cancer care center providing treatment, research, and support services for various cancer types
• Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital
• Norton College of Medicine
• Upstate Neurological Institute
• Nappi Wellness Institute
• Upstate Heart & Vascular Center
• Waters Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders

Products and services

• Radiation Oncology Services Comprehensive radiation therapy services for cancer patients using advanced technologies like TrueBeam, Varian Edge, and Gamma Knife for precise image-guided treatment delivery across multiple modalities.
• Surgical Oncology Services Cancer surgery services including open and minimally invasive procedures, with robotic surgical options using the da Vinci system and Blue Light Cystoscopy for bladder cancer.
• Adult Hematology/Oncology Services Medical oncology services for adult patients including chemotherapy, immunotherapy with 20+ years of research expertise, targeted therapy, and stem cell transplantation.
• Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant Program Transplant services including autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants, apheresis services, and cellular therapy collection through FACT-accredited program.
• Pediatric Cancer Care (Waters Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders) Comprehensive pediatric oncology services including the Dubowy Brain Tumor Center, Sickle Cell Treatment Program, and Children's Oncology Group clinical trial participation.
• Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain tumors and neurological conditions using focused radiation beams for non-invasive treatment.
• MyChart Patient Portal Secure online Epic-based portal for patients to access health records, schedule appointments, view test results, message care teams, manage prescriptions, and access telehealth.
• Clinical Trials Program Access to cancer clinical trials through the Clinical Trials Office for innovative treatments including NCI-aligned research protocols and Children's Oncology Group trials.
• Cancer Genetics Program Genetic testing and counseling services for hereditary cancer risk assessment and personalized treatment planning.
• Cancer Screening Programs Screening services for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers including community-based outreach programs.
• Cancer Support Services Comprehensive support including financial counseling, integrative therapies, nutrition counseling, pain management, palliative care, psychosocial oncology, rehabilitation, social work, spiritual care, support groups, survivor wellness, and tobacco cessation.
• Telehealth Services Virtual healthcare appointments and remote consultations for cancer care via MyChart-enabled platform.
• Nuclear Medicine Services Diagnostic imaging and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
• Apheresis Services Therapeutic apheresis, cellular therapy collection, and photopheresis services for cancer treatment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly doubled research investment to $55 million in the last decade
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Empire State DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState economic development agency partnering with Upstate Medical University for biotech accelerator program supporting high-potential startups connected to biomedical research.
• SUNY Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research foundation supporting Upstate Biotech Ventures program for technology development and entrepreneurship at the medical university.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center: New York State-designated cancer center and the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in upstate New York, located in Buffalo. Closest academic oncology peer to Upstate within NY, competing for regional referrals and translational research talent across upstate NY.
• Fox Chase Cancer Center (Temple University Health): NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center affiliated with a Philadelphia-based academic medical center, operating radiation, surgical, and medical oncology plus research programs at a similar institutional scale to Upstate Cancer Center.
• Karmanos Cancer Institute (Wayne State University): NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Detroit operating as part of a public-university academic medical system (Wayne State/McLaren). Closely comparable AMC-affiliated cancer center with similar service breadth, research footprint, and regional monopoly characteristics within its catchment.
• Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center (VCU Health): NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, a public-state AMC cancer program with comparable structure: regional referral base, state-university ownership, integrated research-clinical-education model, and similar population health/community outreach orientation.
• Penn State Cancer Institute: Cancer center at another Pennsylvania public-state university AMC, providing radiation, surgical, and medical oncology plus NCI-supported research. Operates with comparable academic structure and rural/semi-urban Pennsylvania catchment analogous to Upstate's Central NY service area.
• Wilmot Cancer Institute (University of Rochester Medical Center): Academic cancer center serving the Finger Lakes/Western NY region from a similarly mid-sized upstate New York AMC. Operates the same integrated research-clinical-education model with NCI designation, comparable subspecialty oncology services, and competing referral overlap on the Central NY catchment's western edge.

Broad incumbents

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: The largest U.S. standalone cancer specialty hospital and primary destination center for Central NY patients seeking rare or experimental oncology care. Offers the same multimodal radiation/surgical/medical oncology and pediatric programs but at a national-referral scale.
• Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (Columbia/NYP): NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University offering the full spectrum of oncology services — radiation, surgical, medical, transplant, and pediatric — analogous to Upstate's service stack but at substantially larger scale and urban catchment, drawing downstate outmigration cases.
• Perlmutter Cancer Center (NYU Langone Health): NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center delivering multidisciplinary oncology across Manhattan and Long Island. Comparable service portfolio (radiation, surgical, medical oncology, clinical trials) and overlapping academic medical center structure, competing for high-acuity cases Upstate might otherwise retain.
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center affiliated with Harvard Medical School and a national destination for complex oncology cases. Represents the upper-bound peer on translational research depth, subspecialty coverage, and clinical-trial volume that Upstate competes against for high-acuity referrals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/upstatecancer
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UpstateMedicalUniv
• Facebookfacebook.com/UpstateCancerCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upstate-cancer-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/upstatemedical

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upstate Medical University Cancer Center