Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute Achieves Perfect Score For National Rectal Cancer Accreditation

The national designation recognizes the highest standards of care and is held by fewer than 100 programs.

 

 

Tampa, Fla. (August 28, 2026) – Tampa General Hospital (TGH) has earned accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons. The designation was confirmed following a site visit, is valid through June 25, 2029 and places Tampa General among fewer than 100 programs nationwide to meet the program’s rigorous standards.

 

The lead surveyor portrayed TGH Cancer Institute as having built “a very strong rectal cancer program with many elements that represent beacons of good practice.” The level of administrative investment was described as “truly impressive.”

 

The accreditation confirms that TGH Cancer Institute patients have access to rectal cancer care that meets the highest national standards for quality, coordination and clinical outcomes.

 

NAPRC accreditation is among the most demanding quality designations in cancer care. Established by the American College of Surgeons, it holds programs to exacting standards across every stage of rectal cancer care, from diagnosis through surgery and recovery. To earn accreditation, a program must demonstrate full compliance across more than a dozen standards spanning:

 

• Multidisciplinary team structure
• Standardized imaging and staging
• Pathology review
• Surgical reporting and post-treatment planning

 

Tampa General Hospital met every standard, scoring a perfect 20/20 on diagnostic pathology review; staging before treatment; MRI staging reporting and CEA level monitoring and a 15/15 on surgical resection and pathology reporting.

 

For patients facing a rectal cancer diagnosis, the structure underlying their care is as important as the treatment itself. Rectal cancer is one of the most complex to treat. Outcomes depend on precise staging, the exact sequence of therapies and a surgical team with extensive, specialized experience. The NAPRC standards exist because this disease demands a level of coordination that most programs do not achieve.

 

At the academic health system, each patient‘s case is reviewed by a dedicated multidisciplinary team before a single treatment decision is made. That means surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists are aligned from the start. They work from a shared, evidence-based plan built around each patient‘s specific disease. With the program approaching 150 cases annually and earning perfect audit scores across every clinical standard, patients and their families can be confident they are receiving the highest level of rectal cancer care available, close to home and backed by one of the nation’s leading academic health systems.

 

“Earning this accreditation is a testament to what our team has built together over more than a decade,” said Dr. Jorge Marcet, director of colon and rectal surgery and professor of Surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and NAPRC Program Leader at Tampa General Hospital. “Every week, our full multidisciplinary team gathers for a dedicated 90-minute GI (gastrointestinal) tumor conference — surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and allied personnel — to review every patient’s case before treatment begins. That level of commitment is what NAPRC accreditation recognizes, and it is what our patients deserve.”

 

“What sets this program apart is the precision we bring to every stage of care,” said Dr. Thomas J. Rutherford, deputy director of the TGH Cancer Institute, director of Surgical Oncology at TGH and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “From the moment a patient is diagnosed, we apply standardized MRI staging, rigorous pathology review and a shared treatment plan developed by the full team. Earning a perfect score across every one of those measures reflects the discipline our team brings to each case and the confidence our patients can have in the care they receive.”

 

The NAPRC accreditation builds on more than a decade of sustained investment in cancer services at Tampa General Hospital, an investment the survey reviewer called “remarkable” and credited as foundational to the program’s NAPRC journey.

 

It reflects the broader strength of the TGH Cancer Institute, ranked among the top 10% of cancer centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2026-2027. For patients across the Tampa Bay region, it means access to a program that meets the nation’s most demanding standards for rectal cancer care — and it is backed by Florida’s premier academic health system and a clinical team the reviewer described as “fully committed and proud of their work.”

 

“This accreditation is not easily earned,” said Dr. Eduardo M. Sotomayor, senior vice president and executive director of the TGH Cancer Institute. “Fewer than 100 programs in the country have met these standards, and the fact that Tampa General achieved perfect scores across every clinical measure speaks to the depth of our team’s commitment. For our patients, it means they no longer have to look elsewhere for the nation’s highest standard of rectal cancer care. It is here, supported by one of Florida's leading academic health systems and it belongs to this community.”

 

Patients and physicians seeking more information about rectal cancer care at Tampa General can visit https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/cancer-institute/colorectal-cancer-center-of-excellence