Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute Earns Reaccreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer

Reaccreditation through 2028 reflects sustained excellence in multidisciplinary care, research and continuous quality improvement.

Tampa, FL (April 17, 2026) — Tampa General Hospital (TGH), the academic partner of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, announced that the TGH Cancer Institute has earned reaccreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The acknowledgment reflects the academic health system’s ongoing commitment to rigorous academic standards, pioneering clinical and translational research, patient-centered cancer care and continuous improvement. The reaccreditation is effective until late 2028.

Commission on Cancer accreditation is a nationally recognized marker of quality for cancer programs that deliver comprehensive, coordinated care across the full continuum — from prevention and early detection, through diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and supportive services. As part of reaccreditation, Commission on Cancer programs demonstrate multidisciplinary infrastructure, performance monitoring and a sustained focus on improving outcomes and quality of life for patients.

“We continue to build a cancer institute defined by clinical excellence, innovation and compassion – and reaccreditation by the Commission on Cancer is an important milestone on that journey,” said Dr. Eduardo M. Sotomayor, vice president and executive director of the TGH Cancer Institute. “This recognition reflects the strength of our academic partnership with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the caliber of our physicians and teams and our commitment to ensuring patients across Florida have access to world-class cancer care close to home.”

Since first earning Commission on Cancer accreditation in 2022, the TGH Cancer Institute has continued to expand advanced programs and services designed to meet the growing needs of patients across the region and state. In recent years, the institute has strengthened specialty care in key areas, introduced leading-edge treatment options and expanded their research department, including:

• Developed a Cellular Therapy Program that provides advanced therapies for patients with aggressive blood cancers, including CAR T-cell therapy and Bone Marrow Transplants, supported by a highly coordinated clinical team and enabled by Tampa General’s innovation infrastructure.
• Launched a Phase I Cancer Research Unit, advancing early-phase clinical trials and expanding patient access to investigational therapies.
• Established a Center for Precision Radiosurgery, featuring AI-driven, real-time motion tracking and synchronization technology to support highly targeted treatment options.
• The Susan and John Sykes Center of Excellence in Colorectal Cancer at the TGH Cancer Institute is in progress to support the patient care, education and research mission of the Cancer Institute and the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. 
• Outreach to rural communities to improve access to early cancer education, screening and treatment and hosted a symposium with the Florida Department of Health on the unique challenges faced by rural communities when it comes to cancer care.
• The Sarcoma Center of Excellence was established to offer comprehensive diagnostic treatment services for more than 70 types of bone and soft tissue sarcomas and was accepted into the prestigious Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration. Less than 5% of the world’s cancer centers meet the stringent criteria for membership.

“Commission on Cancer reaccreditation reinforces that our model is working — a multidisciplinary, research-driven approach treating the whole person and connecting patients to the right expertise at the right time,” said Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, executive vice president, chief of Oncology, Tampa General, president of the Tampa General Provider Network and co-vice president of Clinical and Translational Research, TGH | USF Health Office of Clinical Research. “We have deliberately built an institute that distinguishes Tampa General as nimble and academically grounded, where clinical excellence, clinical trials and translational research move together — and where every advancement is anchored in the experience and outcomes of our patients.”

Research enterprise and academic leadership

The TGH Cancer Institute’s research and innovation platform has expanded significantly, strengthened by close integration with USF Health, Tampa General’s academic partner and a growing roster of nationally recognized physician-scientists and clinical investigators. Recent research momentum includes:

• Continued development of the TGH | USF Health Precision Medicine Biorepository, which enables tumor sequencing and precision medicine research with robust specimen and data infrastructure.
• Received a five-year, $3.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to research chronic inflammation and its link to diet and colorectal cancer. The study also investigates how ultra-processed foods and inflammatory oils may influence tumor biology and potential diet-based “resolution medicine” approaches.
• Launched the Microbial Oncology Program under the leadership of Dr. Robert C. Gallo, James P. Cullison Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Gallo, co-discoverer of HIV as the cause of AIDS, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is one of the most-cited biomedical scientists in history. His recruitment strengthens the institute’s long-term research growth and scientific ambition.
• An expansion of clinical research leadership, which includes the recruitment of Dr. Marshall Posner, a world-renowned physician-scientist and head and neck oncologist, as associate director of Clinical Research, to further advance Tampa General’s clinical trials access and strategy.
• Researchers at the TGH Cancer Institute and USF Health uncovered a potential link between the Western diet — dominated by ultra-processed foods and unhealthy oils — and the chronic inflammation that drives tumor growth.
• Tampa General Hospital and USF Health published a major study in the Annals of Surgical Oncology showcasing a treatment called Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), for the most common type of advanced ovarian cancer. The study showed a higher survivability rate for HIPEC compared with other treatments.

“Our entire cancer institute team worked diligently and collaboratively to earn Commission on Cancer reaccreditation,” said Dr. Thomas Rutherford, who led the effort to achieve a second accreditation and is director of the Division of Gynecology Oncology in the Morsani College of Medicine and deputy director of the TGH Cancer Institute. “Their teamwork and multidisciplinary approach to meeting the needs of the whole patient is the reason we have grown into a leading cancer institute.”

The TGH Cancer Institute — one of Florida’s few cancer centers backed by academic medicine through its partnership with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine — ranks among the nation’s top 10% of hospitals by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2025-2026. It holds accreditations from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers from the American College of Surgeons, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy for excellence in stem cell and cellular therapy and American Society for Radiation Oncology Program for Excellence. The institute is a member of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, recognized for leadership in research, treatment, education and outreach, and was named among Newsweek’s America’s Best Cancer Hospitals.