About us

The Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité draws on the legacy of Professor Jean Dausset, a Nobel Prize winner in medicine who practiced at the Saint-Louis hospital and whose in-depth knowledge of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) facilitated the development of bone marrow allografts for the treatment of hematological malignancies at the end of the 20^th century.

As a major player in the field of oncology in the Ile-de-France region, the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité brings together the hemato-oncological care, research, and education activities of seven hospitals, all located in the north of Paris and making up the university hospital group AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité, along with the Université Paris Cité.

The Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité pools the strengths of the Saint-Louis, Bichat – Claude-Bernard, Beaujon, Robert-Debré, Lariboisière, Louis-Mourier, and Bretonneau hospitals in all areas of oncology, developing reference activities in bone marrow transplantation, cell therapies (CAR-T), and early-phase clinical trials, in order to provide patients with the highest level of care and to achieve excellence in cancer research.

More than 150 physicians, 180 researchers, engineers and post-doctoral fellows are engaged in cancer treatment as well as basic and translational research activities.

The objective of the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité is to structure this network of hospitals into a single university hospital entity.

Dedicated to coordinated patient care and cancer research, with coherent and clear pathways offered to patients, the Institute promotes the pooling of
knowledge, skills, and resources between the hospitals involved in cancer care, research, and teaching.

• Highly structured medico-surgical organ oncology: digestive system, thorax, ENT, urology, senology-gynecology, dermatology, neurology
• Hematology of international outreach, a cutting-edge know-how with Car-T cells, unique in the AP-HP, and bone marrow allograft
• Medical oncology and radiotherapy: support care, pain, and oncogenetics
• Radiotherapy: RadiomiX, stereotaxis, vectorized radiotherapy
• Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, nuclear imaging, early-phase trials
• Biobank, tumor genomics, research
• Rare cancers and rare hemopathies
• Structured oncogeriatrics

• Liver, biliary ducts, Beaujon hospital
• Hematology, Saint-Louis hospital
• Lung nodules, Bichat – Claude-Bernard hospital
• Pancreas, Beaujon hospital
• Breast, Saint-Louis hospital
• Neuroendocrine tumors, Beaujon hospital

Prof. Gérard Zalcman focuses his research activities on clinical research in thoracic oncology, as the principal investigator of large phase III trials promoted by the French Intergroup of Thoracic Cancerology (IFCT) which he chaired for four years.

He is a professor of pneumology at the Université Paris Cité and heads the department of thoracic oncology at the Bichat – Claude-Bernard hospital. As a member of the INSERM Unit 830 « Cancer, Heterogeneity and Plasticity », at the Institut Curie Research Center, he co-leads a team developing new microfluidic devices for cell biology, so-called « cancer-on-chips », dedicated to the study of the cancer microenvironment.

He has been appointed Medical Director of the Cancer Institute AP-HP. North – Université Paris Cité in 2020.

Prof. Céleste Lebbé is a professor of dermatology at the Université Paris Cité, head of the skin cancer center at the Saint-Louis hospital, member of the Saint-Louis Research Institute, Inserm Unit U976 HIPI (Human Immunology, Pathophysiology, Immunotherapy), very involved in clinical and translational research on melanoma and viral-induced skin cancers.

She has been appointed Deputy Medical Director of the Cancer Institute AP-HP. North – Université Paris Cité.

On December 20, 2024, the OECI – Organisation of European Cancer Institutes – granted Comprehensive Cancer Center accreditation to the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité.

This European accreditation, awarded for five years, recognizes the Institute’s excellence in the comprehensive care of cancer patients and highlights the commitment and high quality of the institute’s teams. The institute oversees oncology-related care, research, and teaching activities across the seven hospitals of the AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center accreditation crowns nearly four years of intensive collective work — both in building the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité as a hospital federation of services, and in structuring oncology-hematology activities across seven hospitals, together with the teams.

This work included:

• Organizing the patient care pathway;

• Implementing shared procedures, particularly for the management of oncology emergencies in emergency departments;

• Creating the Cancer Patient Committee to further involve patients in their care.

Several key strengths were identified by European experts during their visit in June 2024:

• Strong innovations, such as the rapid diagnostic centers (breast, liver, thorax, myeloproliferative neoplasms, pancreas);

• Research activities, notably at the MEARY center, including the use of CAR-T cells;

• The creation of the SIRIC InsiTu, dedicated to studying the inflammation–cancer continuum;

• A strong balance between grassroots initiatives and leadership-driven projects in the paramedical and research fields;

• Major investment programs, including the new Lariboisière hospital, the ZAP-X system, and the Saint-Ouen Grand Paris Nord hospital and university campus, offering an innovative approach to cancer care;

• The excellent impression made by many departments, both in outpatient care and clinical research, across all hospitals within the GHU.

With 648 onco-hematology beds and 122 systemic therapy chairs, the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité  brings together the expertise of 135 departments across Beaujon, Bichat – Claude-Bernard, Bretonneau, Lariboisière – Fernand-Widal, Louis-Mourier, Robert-Debré, and Saint-Louis hospitals. Each year, these facilities offer over 16,000 patients, including nearly 10,000 new patients of all ages, personalized care for all types of cancer, along with access to the most advanced treatments:

• Organ-based medical and surgical oncology (digestive, thoracic, ENT, urology, breast and gynecological, dermatology, and neurology);

• Hematology, including CAR-T cells and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation;

• Access to supportive care, cutting-edge oncogenetics, and pain management;

• Radiotherapy;

• Immunotherapy;

• Targeted therapies;

• Nuclear imaging and targeted internal radiotherapy (TIRT);

• Early-phase clinical trials;

• Reference centers for rare solid tumors and rare hematologic malignancies;

• Structured geriatric oncology;

• Pediatric onco-hematology.

The Cancer Patients Committee of the Institute brings together representatives from the main patient associations dealing with cancer or malignant hematological disorders, active within the GHU AP-HP Nord – Université Paris Cité. It closely interfaces with the Hospital Users Committees as well as with the Patient Engagement Committee of the GHU.

Patient commitment is the keystone of our quality approach and is based on a reciprocal commitment:

• from the patient, who shares with the hospital team feedback on his or her experience
• from our teams to the patients for a common goal and mutual benefits.

The impact on the improvement of the quality and safety of patient care goes hand in hand with an improvement in the quality of life and job satisfaction of the hospital teams. Patient participation, with the patient being her/his key managerial actor, is being promoted, thus becoming an integral part of our daily practices and projects.

A « Cancer Patients Committee » has been created in June 2023, in accordance with the DHOS circular n° 2004-516 from October 28, 2004 and OECI standard N°19, which relate to patients’ committees within health institutions providing cancer treatment.

This committee gathers members of the main associations of patients with cancer or hematological malignancies, which are active within the GHU. The committee works in close link with the user commissions of the hospitals, the GHU, and the GHU’s patient commitment committee.

The main goals of the Cancer Patients Committee are to:

Cancer Patients Committee’s members

Karin Tourmente
Vivre avec une NMP
Marie Dautel
Anticoag-pass-S2D
Geneviève Alberti
Ligue contre le Cancer
Flora Sandoval
Mon réseau Cancer du Sein
Adbelhalim El Gaddari
ALK-ROS

Flora Sandoval
Geneviève Alberti
Karin Tourmente

Marie Dautel
East 3C
Christine Rodien-Louw
West 3C
Geneviève Alberti
Pediatric 3C

Geneviève Alberti

• A hemato-oncology and biotherapy research institute at the SaintLouis hospital with five EA/ EPST (reception team/primary, secondary and technical education) units and 23 teams + platforms (cytometry, genomics, microscopy, bioData center)
• A SIRIC InSiTu
• A SIRIC Paris Kids Cancer
• A population genetics Institute, historical partner (CEPH) founded by Nobel Prize winner in Medicine Jean Dausset.
• Two innovative FHU (university hospital federations): APOLLO (fibrosis and lung cancer), MOSAIC (multimodal imaging, from biology to magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and an artificial intelligence applied to cancerology).
• An IHU (university hospital institute): THEMA 2
• Two RHU (university hospital research in health) SPRINT and Liver-Track.
• An inflammation research center (the CRI) at the Bichat Claude-Bernard and Beaujon hospitals with a strong research focus on «cancer inflammation».
• Accredited early-phase trial centers: CIC Saint-Louis, CIC Bichat forming the CLIP2 Paris-Nord.
• A long-standing involvement in cancer cooperative groups (GCO): LYSA, FFCD, IFCT, GFELC, GCC, GETUG.
• Rare tumor expert centers with INCa (French national cancer institute) accreditation: onco-dermatology (Gefelc, CARADERM), mesotheliomas (Net-meso), sarcomas (NetSarc), NE digestive tumors (Renaten), HIV cancer, K-virogref, TUTHYREF.

At the Cancer Institute AP-HP. Nord – Université Paris Cité, many clinical trials are open to inclusion.