Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center · Institution

Termeer Center for targeted therapies; ALK/ROS1 and EGFR resistance research; Francis H. Burr Proton Center; Broad Institute affiliation.

Location

Boston, US

Type

hospital · Harvard University

Website

www.massgeneral.org/cancer-center

Newsweek 2026 oncology rank

#16

NCI designation

comprehensive

OnCo score

#16 · 87 points (44 Newsweek + 15 NCI + 28 from 14 linked objects) · ranking

Programmes

3top

Targeted therapy (lung)
Proton therapy
Neuro-oncology

People

8top

Daniel A. Haber

Director, Mass General Cancer Center; HHMI Investigator

Circulating tumour cellsEGFR mutationsCancer genetics

Co-discovered EGFR mutations in lung cancer and pioneered circulating tumour cell technology.

Justin F. Gainor

Director, Center for Thoracic Cancers

ALK and ROS1 lung cancerImmunotherapy in oncogene-driven NSCLCRET

Showed that oncogene-driven lung cancers respond poorly to immunotherapy and led the pivotal RET and ALK inhibitor studies.

Keith T. Flaherty

Director of Clinical Research, Mass General Cancer Center

MelanomaBRAF and MEK inhibitorsPrecision oncology trials

Led the first trials of BRAF inhibition in melanoma and chairs the NCI-MATCH precision medicine trial.

Lecia V. Sequist

Director, Center for Innovation in Early Cancer Detection; Landry Family Professor of Medicine

Lung cancerEGFR resistanceEarly detection

Defined EGFR resistance mechanisms in lung cancer and now leads early-detection research including the Sybil AI lung-risk model.

Leif W. Ellisen

Program Director, Breast Medical Oncology

Breast cancer geneticsp53 family and p63Cancer predisposition

Runs breast medical oncology at MGH and studies the tumour-suppressor biology behind hereditary and triple-negative breast cancer.

Ryan B. Corcoran

Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center; Scientific Director, Termeer Center for Targeted Therapy

Colorectal cancerBRAF and KRAS resistanceLiquid biopsy

Worked out why BRAF inhibitors fail in colorectal cancer and how to combine drugs to overcome it.

Ryan J. Sullivan

Associate Director, Melanoma Program

MelanomaImmune-related adverse eventsTargeted and immune therapy sequencing

Ryan Sullivan is a melanoma trialist and a leading voice on managing immunotherapy side effects.

Theodore S. Hong

Director, Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology

Proton therapyLiver and pancreatic cancer radiationTotal neoadjuvant therapy

Showed how radiation, including proton therapy, can be used in liver and pancreatic cancers previously considered unsuitable.

Key papers

1top

rctNew England Journal of Medicine 2010changed practice

Temel: early palliative care alongside chemotherapy improved quality of life, mood and survival in lung cancer

Palliative care is not what happens when treatment stops; it works best alongside cancer treatment from the start. Patients feel better, are less depressed and may live longer. Access remains the constraint: most of the world's patients never see a palliative care specialist.