The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (previously, ''Princess Margaret Hospital'') is a

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

centre and a

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, affiliated with the

University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine The Temerty Faculty of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being k ...

as part of the

University Health Network University Health Network (UHN) is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest health research organization in Canada and ranks first in Canada for total research funding. It was named Canada's ...

. The hospital now stands as the largest cancer centre in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and one of the five largest

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

centres in the world. Along with the Odette Cancer Centre, which is also associated with

and is independently the sixth largest cancer centre in North America, it forms one of the largest cluster of

hospitals in the world. The hospital is situated near the intersection of

University Avenue A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and College Street within the

Discovery District The Discovery District is one of the commercial districts in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology. The district is roughly bounded by B ...

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Str ...

, an area with high concentration of biomedical research institutions. Named for Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the hospital is under the royal patronage of

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

. The hospital specializes in the treatment of

, and offers the majority of its services to residents of the Greater Toronto Area. The hospital offers expertise in the fields of surgical oncology, medical oncology, hematology including bone marrow transplantation,

radiation oncology Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

psychosocial oncology Psycho-oncology is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physical, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of the cancer experience for both patients and caregivers. Also known as psychiatric oncology or psychosocial oncology, r ...

, medical imaging, and

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radi ...

. The hospital houses 17 radiation treatment machines, all of which are equipped with the latest technologies including IMRT and VMAT, a superficial orthovoltage machine, and operates a Gamma Knife (Perfexion) stereotactic radiosurgery machine in collaboration with Toronto Western Hospital.

Education

As a teaching hospital of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, the hospital provides training to various medical professions. Most notable are clinical programs for medical doctors (medical and radiation oncologists) and radiation therapists.

Research

Its related research arm, the

Ontario Cancer Institute The Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) is the research division of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, affiliated to the University Health Network of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. As Canada's first dedicated cancer hospital, it opened of ...

(OCI), works in conjunction with the hospital in a mutually beneficial relationship. Many researchers at the OCI hold appointments at the University of Toronto, often within the Department of Medical

Biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

. The Princess Margaret's research program ranked fourth in terms of the percentage of publications cited in high-impact oncology journals.

History

The hospital was founded as the Ontario Cancer Institute in 1952 by an Act of the Ontario legislature. Designed by the architect Henry Sproatt, it was originally located at 500 Sherbourne Street (now a condo complex) near the former Wellesley Hospital. During health restructuring legislated by the

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

Government in the late 1990s Princess Margaret Hospital merged with what was then named The Toronto Hospital, which was the entity formed by the previous merger of the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

and the Toronto Western Hospital, and the new combined organization was named

(UHN) with the three separate hospitals maintaining their own identities within the new hospital corporation.

The Journey to Conquer Cancer Run or Walk Event

The 7th annual Journey to Conquer Cancer Run or Walk which is organized by the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation raised $1.7M for charity in 2019 (over $10M since its inception) and takes place annually in May and June with locations in Toronto, Mississauga and Vaughan and offers 5 km, 3 km and 1 km options routed by The Princess Margaret. This event offers teams and individuals the opportunity to raise funds in support of any area of cancer research, clinic, lab or patient care program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Additional images

Image:PMH Toronto 2007 Sunset.jpg, Princess Margaret as seen from the southwest at sunset. Image:Princess Margaret Hospital 2005.JPG, The Princess Margaret as seen from the northeast. Mount Sinai Hospital is to the south.

References

External links

* {{authority control Hospitals in Toronto Hospital buildings completed in 1958 Hospital buildings completed in 1995 Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage Hospitals established in 1952 Cancer hospitals Hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto 1952 establishments in Ontario