Vall d’Hebron achieves recognition as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre

In recent years, Vall d’Hebron has received some of the most prestigious recognitions in the field of cancer patient care.

June 2023

As a result of its significant growth across its clinical, research and teaching activity, it was recognised as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre in 2023. This accreditation recognises excellence in comprehensive cancer care, including prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, patient follow-up and palliative care. The evaluation is holistic and covers clinical care, research and teaching, both in undergraduate medical and nursing training. Vall d’Hebron was the first centre in Spain to receive this accreditation.
 
The process began in May 2021, when Vall d’Hebron was admitted as a member of the OECI, a non-governmental organisation founded in Vienna in 1979. The organisation currently includes more than 120 members, among them some of Europe’s leading comprehensive cancer centres. First, Vall d’Hebron completed a self-assessment process and submitted documentary evidence of its practices across nine key areas: governance, quality management systems, patient involvement, multidisciplinary care, cancer prevention and early detection, diagnosis, treatment, research, teaching and continuing education in oncology. In December 2021, an external team of auditors from the OECI visited Vall d’Hebron to conduct an onsite evaluation as a cancer centre. Finally, in 2023, the OECI granted Vall d’Hebron accreditation as a comprehensive cancer centre. We passed an external evaluation that accredited compliance with 85 standards and 343 sub-standards, both qualitative and quantitative, covering multidisciplinary integrated cancer care and research carried out through Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).
 
In addition, Vall d’Hebron is the hospital in Spain with the highest number of CSUR (Reference Centres, Services and Units) accreditations for rare diseases, including certain types of cancer, and it participates in the largest number of European Reference Networks (ERNs).

Exponential growth

In the late 1990s, around 800 new patients were seen each year in the Medical Oncology Department; today, that figure is approximately 7,000. As the hospital is a referral centre for the whole of Spain, 60% of the patients treated in the Department come from outside its reference area. Some patients are referred from the outset, particularly those with rare diseases. Others, with more common conditions, arrive after previous treatments have failed when Vall d’Hebron can offer more experimental options.
 
Since the Department was first established, many things have changed. In the area of drug development, targeted therapies have been designed to act on specific genetic alterations in tumours; immunotherapy, which stimulates the immune system to fight the disease; and other more recent treatments that are still under investigation. All of these are helping to improve patient survival.
 
The revolution in diagnostics has also contributed to improved outcomes. Until the 1990s, the diagnosis was purely pathological (staining to determine the type of tumour). This was followed by the genomic revolution, first with the sequencing of the human genome and later the tumour genome. These advances have gradually been incorporated into clinical practice, and genomic panels are now used in Catalonia to detect genetic alterations in specific diseases using NGS (next-generation sequencing) technology. In 2024, liquid biopsy was introduced for the diagnosis of certain subtypes of lung cancer.

As the Hospital is a referral centre for the whole of Spain, 60% of the patients treated in the Department come from outside its reference area.

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