The Moffitt Cancer Center is planning a 10-year, $800 million expansion driven by a promising new cancer treatment called “immunotherapy,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The expansion would add a hospital wing, two research buildings, a clinical support building and outpatient facilities, the newspaper reported.
Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, is offering hope for patients who had exhausted all other treatments, Moffitt director Dr. Thomas Sellers told the Times. The FDA is expected to approve the treatment in 2017.
Patients must stay at Moffitt to receive the treatment, so the hospital will add beds to meet what will likely be a growing demand.
The hospital hopes to raise $500 million and finance the rest with a bond, Sellers told the Times.
Officials from Moffitt declined to comment on the story until early next week.
