The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will enter a new phase of its burgeoning partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center next week, as the renowned cancer center transfers its breast oncology services from Brigham and Women’s Hospital to Beth Israel.
Starting Monday, Beth Israel and Dana-Farber, which announced their partnership in 2023, will each host different parts of the breast cancer treatment process, Dana-Farber said Thursday. Outpatient breast oncology services will be provided by Dana-Farber, while breast cancer surgeries will take place at Beth Israel Deaconess.
BIDMC is part of the Beth Israel Lahey Health System, the second largest hospital network in the state, which competes with the state’s largest health system, Mass General Brigham. Dana-Farber shocked medical professionals when it broke its longtime partnership with Brigham, one of MGB’s flagship hospitals, to build a new cancer-only hospital with Beth Israel.
This transition to a processing center will be the first of many for Dana-Farber as it ends its partnership with Brigham, which ends in 2028.
Dr. Elizabeth Mittendorf, who previously worked at Brigham, joined BIDMC in 2025 to lead the hospital’s new breast surgery division. At least two of the division’s nine other surgeons previously worked at Brigham, online records show.
“Breast cancer is not one disease, but rather a series of very specific subtypes that require different therapies and approaches, each tailored to each patient,” Mittendorf said in a statement. “As BIDMC surgeons, we work hand-in-hand with our colleagues in Dana-Farber breast oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, reconstructive surgery and other disciplines to provide the best possible care and outcomes for our patients. »
Dana-Farber and Beth Israel are set to break ground on a new, $1.68 billion, 300-bed cancer hospital that will house patients needing inpatient care during treatment. It is scheduled to open in 2031. Meanwhile, Mass General Brigham is investing $400 million to create a competing cancer institute, with new construction and renovations at several sites.
For Dana-Farber, surgical care and recovery will still take place at BIDMC or another hospital, if patients choose to have surgery elsewhere.
“If a patient says, ‘I want to have surgery in New York, or at Mass General, or in Paris, we work with those doctors. That happens all the time with our patients,’ Dana-Farber Chief Executive Officer Dr. Benjamin Ebert said in an interview. “In all cases, patients have the opportunity to choose who takes care of them. »
Dana-Farber said it is home to the largest portfolio of breast cancer clinical trials in New England, which includes trials for every type of breast cancer. BIDMC is home to a number of surgical clinical trials, including research aimed at improving breast reconstruction and treating lymphedema, a common side effect of breast cancer that causes swelling of the body’s lymphatic system.
Marin Wolf can be contacted at marin.wolf@globe.com.
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