institutionsInstitution

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Where trastuzumab (Slamon) and palbociclib were developed clinically, and a leader in PSMA PET and melanoma immunotherapy (Ribas).

The UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles holds NCI comprehensive designation and is where trastuzumab was developed clinically through Slamon's HER2 work, where palbociclib entered the clinic, and where Antoni Ribas built a leading melanoma immunotherapy programme in checkpoint and TIL research. Johannes Czernin and Jeremie Calais made it a centre for PSMA PET, Hurvitz ran its breast trials programme before moving to Fred Hutch, and Michael A. Teitell, Amar U. Kishan, Aditya Bardia, Denise R. Aberle and the patient Barbara Bradfield are also listed. Nuclide links it to HER2 and PSMA as targets, to trastuzumab, palbociclib and gallium-68 PSMA-11, and to melanoma and prostate cancer. How to extend the HER2 model of target, drug and companion test to new targets remains its recurring theme. Its HER2, melanoma and PSMA programmes are the ones to read.

Location

Los Angeles, US

Type

cancer center · University of California, Los Angeles

Website

www.uclahealth.org/cancer

Newsweek 2026 oncology rank

Not in top 300 listing used

NCI designation

comprehensive

Nuclide score

#14 · 29 points (0 Newsweek + 15 NCI + 14 from 7 linked objects) · ranking

Research output

From OpenAlex, oncology works in the last five years (2022 to 2026, current year in progress); counted on 2026-10-22.

Matched to University of California, Los Angeles, including child institutions. 2,397 works · 37,291 citations · 68% open access · 12% clinical trials · 2% reviews.

Oncology works per year

5012022

5142023

4602024

4962025

4262026

Most works

Most cited

Work	Journal	Year	Citations
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons’ Position Paper on Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws—2022 Update 10.1016/j.joms.2022.02.008	Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	2022	1,146
Lung cancer immunotherapy: progress, pitfalls, and promises 10.1186/s12943-023-01740-y · open access	Molecular Cancer	2023	1,071
Neoadjuvant–Adjuvant or Adjuvant-Only Pembrolizumab in Advanced Melanoma 10.1056/nejmoa2211437 · open access	New England Journal of Medicine	2023	911
Rectal Cancer, Version 2.2022, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology 10.6004/jnccn.2022.0051	Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network	2022	834
Trastuzumab deruxtecan versus trastuzumab emtansine in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: updated results from DESTINY-Breast03, a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial 10.1016/s0140-6736(22)02420-5 · open access	The Lancet	2022	687
NALIRIFOX versus nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in treatment-naive patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (NAPOLI 3): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial 10.1016/s0140-6736(23)01366-1 · open access	The Lancet	2023	521
The role of patient-reported outcome measures in the continuum of cancer clinical care: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline 10.1016/j.annonc.2022.04.007 · open access	Annals of Oncology	2022	503
Durvalumab With or Without Tremelimumab in Combination With Chemotherapy as First-Line Therapy for Metastatic Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: The Phase III POSEIDON Study 10.1200/jco.22.00975 · open access	Journal of Clinical Oncology	2022	458
Sotigalimab and/or nivolumab with chemotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer: clinical and immunologic analyses from the randomized phase 2 PRINCE trial 10.1038/s41591-022-01829-9 · open access	Nature Medicine	2022	379
Colon Cancer, Version 3.2024, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology 10.6004/jnccn.2024.0029	Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network	2024	374
Efficacy of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor of KrasG12D in Immunocompetent Models of Pancreatic Cancer 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-22-1066 · open access	Cancer Discovery	2022	367
T cells specific for α-myosin drive immunotherapy-related myocarditis 10.1038/s41586-022-05432-3 · open access	Nature	2022	364
Durvalumab, with or without tremelimumab, plus platinum-etoposide in first-line treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer: 3-year overall survival update from CASPIAN 10.1016/j.esmoop.2022.100408 · open access	ESMO Open	2022	346
Three-Year Follow-Up of KTE-X19 in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Including High-Risk Subgroups, in the ZUMA-2 Study 10.1200/jco.21.02370 · open access	Journal of Clinical Oncology	2022	331
The global, regional, and national burden of cancer, 1990–2023, with forecasts to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 10.1016/s0140-6736(25)01635-6 · open access	The Lancet	2025	329

Programmes

3top

HER2 (Slamon)
Melanoma immunotherapy (Ribas)
PSMA PET

People

3top

Amir Iravani

Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Director of the Theranostics Program, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Theranostics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (from July 2026; previously Theranostics Clinical Director, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Washington, 2022-2026)

PSMA radioligand therapy trialsdosimetrydual-tracer (PSMA/FDG) patient selection

A nuclear medicine physician-scientist who worked on the practice-changing TheraP and LuPSMA trials in Australia and has moved through Fred Hutchinson to UCLA in 2026 to build a new hospital theranostics programme.

Jeremie Calais

Associate Professor; Director, Clinical Research Program, Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division, UCLA

PSMA PETRadioligand therapyClinical trials

Runs the UCLA theranostics trials that test PSMA imaging against conventional scans and lutetium against chemotherapy.

Johannes Czernin

Chief, Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division, UCLA

Nuclear medicinePSMA theranosticsPET imaging

Nuclear medicine leader who helped bring PSMA PET and radioligand therapy to the United States.