The Masonic Cancer Center creates a collaborative research environment focused on the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer; applying that knowledge to improve quality of life for patients and survivors; and sharing its discoveries with other scientists, students, professionals, and the community. Founded in 1991, the cancer center became a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in 1997, one of only 41 institutions in the United States and two in Minnesota to hold that designation. Masonic Cancer Center