30 Years of NCCN
In January 1995, a press conference was held to announce the creation of a national alliance to develop and institute standards of care for the treatment of cancer and perform outcomes research – and so the NCCN was born.
With 13 original NCCN Member Institutions, the goal was to ensure delivery of high-quality, cost-effective services to people with cancer across the country.
Now an alliance of 33 leading cancer centers, NCCN develops resources and programs that present valuable information to clinicians, patients, and other health care decision-makers around the world.
1995 – NCCN was announced as a national alliance to develop and institute standards of care for the treatment of cancer and perform outcomes research. There were 13 original NCCN Member Institutions.
1995 – Bruce R. Ross was named the first NCCN Chief Executive Officer.
1995 – Joseph V. Simone, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
1996 – The first NCCN Annual Conference was held and attracted more than 300 attendees.
1996 – The first NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) were published to assist in the decision-making process of individuals involved in cancer care to improve patient care and outcomes. The first disease types available were: Acute Leukemia and Breast, Colon, Lung, Ovarian, Pediatric, Prostate, and Rectal Cancers.
1996 – New NCCN Member Institutions:
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
1997 – William T. McGivney, PhD, was named NCCN Chief Executive Officer.
1997 – Robert C. Young, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
1997 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
1998 – NCCN.org launched.
1998 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Moffitt Cancer Center
1999 – NCCN established what is now known as the Oncology Research Program (ORP) to facilitate all phases of clinical research and initiate trials at NCCN Member institutions.
2000 – New NCCN Member Institution:
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
2001 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Duke Cancer Institute
2001 – William P. Vaughan, MD, MBA, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2002 – NCCN Guidelines were made available online at NCCN.org for non-commercial use.
2003 – The first issue of JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network was published.
2004 – The first chapter of the NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium (NCCN Compendium®) was published as authoritative, scientifically derived information designed to support decision making about the appropriate use of drugs and biologics in patients with cancer.
2004 – David C. Hohn, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2006 – The first NCCN Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™ was held.
2006 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
2006 – Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2007 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
2008 – The NCCN Compendium® was recognized by public and private insurers alike, including, but not limited to, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and UnitedHealthcare, as an authoritative reference for oncology coverage policy.
2008 – The first NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates (NCCN Templates®) were published to improve the safe use of drugs and biologics in cancer care.
2009 – NCCN hosted its first NCCN Academy for Excellence & Leadership in OncologyTM: School of Pharmaceutical & Biotech Business.
2009 – NCCN launched its first patient site, which later became NCCN.org/patients.
2009 – NCCN launched the Oncology Policy Summit Series. This grew into the Oncology Policy Program, which works to ensure use of NCCN Guidelines in health policy and coverage determination and facilitates patient access to high-quality, guideline-concordant care.
2010 – The NCCN Foundation® was created to empower people living with cancer and advance oncology innovations.
2010 – The first NCCN Guidelines for Patients® funded by the NCCN Foundation were published.
2010 – Thomas A. D'Amico, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2011 – The first NCCN Foundation® Young Investigator Award (YIA) recipients were announced.
2012 – NCCN Biomarkers Compendium® became available on NCCN.org to support decision-making around the use of biomarker testing in patients with cancer.
2013 – New NCCN Member Institutions:
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
University of Colorado Cancer Center
2013 – Robert W. Carlson, MD, joined NCCN as Chief Executive Officer.
2013 – Samuel M. Silver, MD, PhD, MACP, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2013 – NCCN launched the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® app.
2013 – NCCN launched global initiatives to share the latest oncology advances with people around the world.
2014 – New NCCN Member Institutions:
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center
Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital
2015 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute
2015 – NCCN published NCCN Framework for Resource Stratification of NCCN Guidelines (NCCN Framework™) as a tool for healthcare providers to identify treatment options that will provide the best possible outcomes in resource-constrained settings.
2015 – NCCN launched NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ to help clinicians and patients make informed choices when selecting systemic therapies based upon measures related to treatment, supporting data, and cost.
2016 – NCCN Guidelines for Patients® became available via mobile app.
2016 – New NCCN Member Institution:
University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
2016 – Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2017 – JNCCN 360 launched.
2018 – NCCN Radiation Therapy CompendiumTM became available to support clinical decision-making became available around the use of radiation therapy in patients with cancer.
2018 – NCCN Continuing Education became jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
2018 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania
2019 – NCCN published NCCN Guidelines® for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)—the first of several new pediatric cancer guidelines
2019 – NCCN, together with the American Cancer Society, Clinton Health Access Initiative, and IBM, announced the new alliance, Allied Against Cancer, to continue the efforts to improve access to high-quality cancer care and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
2019 – Ronald S. Walters, MD, MBA, MHA, MS, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2020 – NCCN collaborated with experts from Member Institutions to create COVID-19 resources for the oncology community.
2020 – New NCCN Member Institutions:
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
2021 – NCCN provided ongoing updates and vaccination recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic and cancer care.
2021 – NCCN published a free Employer Toolkit to help employers make the best decision possible when it comes to cancer care for their employees.
2021 – NCCN launched the Health Equity Report Card to help reduce disparities in cancer care.
2021 – New NCCN Member Institution:
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
2022 – The total number of NCCN Guidelines for Patients surpassed 70. The library of translations also continued to expand, and NCCN Foundation announced that all resources will be translated into Spanish during the next few years.
2022 – New NCCN Member Institution:
Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
2022 – John W. Sweetenham, MD, FRCP, FACP, FASCO, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2023 – New NCCN Member Institution:
The UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
2023 – Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, became NCCN Chief Executive Officer.
2024 – Matt Kalaycio, MD, was named Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors.
2025 – NCCN Guidelines surpassed 16 million downloads for the year–with more than 1 million downloads each month.