Patients in Northeast Oklahoma with brain and spinal cord tumors can now receive specialized care closer to home with fellowship-trained neuro-oncologists from OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center — the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center — now see patients at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at Hillcrest, 1245 S. Utica Ave., Tulsa.
The expansion gives Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma patients closer access to specialized neuro-oncology care and connects them with the multidisciplinary expertise and clinical research resources of Oklahoma’s only NCI-Designated Cancer Center. NCI-Designated Cancer Centers represent the nation’s top tier of cancer care, and research shows patients treated at these centers may have better outcomes.
Three OU Health neuro-oncologists rotate through the Tulsa location: James Battiste, MD, PhD; Erika Santos Horta, MD; and Alexandra Farrukh, MD. All three are faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Northeast Oklahoma accounts for approximately 8,300 of the roughly 24,000 cancer diagnoses made statewide each year, underscoring the need for expanded access to specialty cancer care in the region.
The new neuro-oncology services build on OU Health’s growing cancer care presence in Tulsa following its 2024 collaboration with Hillcrest HealthCare System. A 176,000-square-foot cancer center is also under construction at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa Schusterman Center campus and is scheduled to open in 2028.
Learn more about neuro-oncology services at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center or call (918) 579-3850 to schedule an appointment.
About: OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center is radically transforming cancer care as Oklahoma’s only National Cancer Institute–Designated Cancer Center. As one of the nation’s elite centers, representing the top 2% of cancer centers in the country, they excel in patient care, research, education and prevention. The mission is to end cancer for patients and their families worldwide. With a flagship location on the University of Oklahoma campus, sites in Tulsa, McAlester Norman, and a mobile cancer screening fleet, they serve all 77 counties in Oklahoma with unshakable optimism and selfless collaboration.
As a leading research organization, physician-scientists are relentlessly pursuing breakthroughs in cancer treatments. Through Oklahoma’s only Phase I clinical trials program, we are developing lifesaving therapies that are transforming patient care and advancing medical science. Stephenson Cancer Center, delivers patient-centered, multidisciplinary care with Oklahoma Proud spirit, fighting every type of cancer with empathy, excellence and a belief that healing belongs to everyone.