City of Hope, the renowned nonprofit cancer hospital just outside Los Angeles, has announced it will acquire Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) for $390 million.

In a press release, the National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center called the decision to acquire CTCA’s three oncology hospitals and five outpatient care centers, a “strategic acquisition…that will advance the missions of both organizations, building a national, integrated cancer research and treatment system to transform the future of cancer care.”

The move by City of Hope, based in Duarte, California, follows CTCA’s decision to  close a center in Tulsa and sell assets from its Philadelphia-based hospital in May.

CTCA has also been plagued by a series of controversies over the years, including a 2013 investigation into alleged questionable practices designed to boost its mortality stats; a 2016 analysis of cancer center advertising practices that showed CTCA spent $101.7 million on advertising in 2014; and a 2019 report showing that CTCA’s high advertising expenditures did not correlate with better patient outcomes when compared with other centers.

However, City of Hope’s president and CEO, Robert Stone, JD, stated in the press release that “CTCA has a strong commitment to patient-centric cancer care, and combining its network and services with City of Hope’s scientific expertise, clinical trials and patient care strengths will significantly increase the number of people who can access the latest lifesaving treatments.”

City of Hope said the transaction is expected to close in early 2022, subject to regulatory approvals, after which it plans to convert CTCA to a nonprofit organization.

Sharon Worcester is an award-winning medical journalist at MDedge News, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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