TRANSFORMING CANCER CARE: Groundbreaking has taken place for the Penn Medicine Princeton Cancer Center, a $401 million project at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro that will deliver comprehensive cancer services starting in May 2028. (Photo courtesy of Penn Medicine)
By Donald Gilpin
Penn Medicine broke ground last week on its Princeton Cancer Center, a $401 million project on the campus of Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro. The 200,000-square-foot center is scheduled to open in May 2028, delivering a full range of cancer services to Central New Jersey and beyond.
“A cancer diagnosis disrupts routines and introduces a level of uncertainty that touches everything in a patient’s life,” said University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin B. Mahoney, as quoted in a Penn Medicine press release. “Across Penn Medicine, we continually work to ease that burden by improving access, convenience, and support throughout every step of treatment.”
He continued, “The Penn Medicine Princeton Cancer Center will help us deliver cutting-edge research and clinical innovations to Central New Jersey, ensuring care that is close to home, carefully coordinated, and deeply compassionate.”
This new cancer center is the largest expansion of Princeton Health since the hospital moved from downtown Princeton and opened off Route 1 in Plainsboro in 2012.
The center will include 40 exam rooms, 30 infusion chairs, and two linear accelerators to deliver radiation therapy, as well as a breast imaging center and advanced diagnostic technologies such as CT, MRI, and SPECT/CT, which provides clearer images at lower radiation doses, allowing physicians to detect cancer earlier and to guide treatment with greater precision.
A recently completed six-story parking garage and a planned imaging center are also part of the project.
Penn Medicine Princeton Health Medical Director of Cancer Programs Noah A. Goldman commented on the project in the context of a tradition of cancer treatment at Princeton Health. “Excellence in cancer care isn’t just about treating disease — it’s about caring for people during their most vulnerable moments,” he said. “From diagnosis through treatment and into survivorship, our patients are supported by a coordinated team. That sense of confidence, genuine caring, and having a team fighting alongside you are what improves outcomes. This commitment to patient-centered care will continue to be at the heart of all we do as we look forward to opening the new cancer care center in 2028.”
Princeton Health CEO James Demetriades described the groundbreaking as “a significant first step in our efforts to redefine cancer care in Central New Jersey.” He added, “The Penn Medicine Princeton Cancer Center will offer patients seamless access to clinical trials, personalized therapies, and coordinated care across our entire health system.”
The new center will feature comprehensive cancer care under one roof, with disease-specific physicians and multidisciplinary teams working together with experts from the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
Patients will also have access to proton therapy, specialized surgery, personalized cell therapies, and other advanced services available at other Penn Medicine locations, with caregivers throughout Penn Medicine having access to patients’ electronic medical records so that patients can receive as much care — such as pre- and post-operative check-ups — as close to home as possible.
“The cancer center will feature a blend of forward-thinking design with environmental stewardship, targeting prestigious LEED Gold certification and continuing the system’s efforts to become the nation’s most environmentally friendly health care organization,” the press release stated. “Green roofs will be incorporated across all canopies and oncology vaults to minimize the heat island effect, and rain gardens will capture excess water run-off.”
Energy recovery technology is a focal point of the facility planning, exceeding energy efficiency standards. Renewable energy purchasing will supply 50 percent of the project’s energy demand.
“Penn Medicine Princeton Cancer Center represents another substantial step in Penn’s ambitious sustainability roadmap, directly supporting Penn’s institutional commitments to reduce operational carbon emissions by 50 percent across all campuses by 2030, with full net-zero operational carbon emissions targeted by 2042,” the Penn Medicine press release stated.
Penn Medicine, an $11.9 billion enterprise with nearly 49,000 faculty and staff, includes— in addition to Princeton Health — the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Doylestown Health, Lancaster General Health, Pennsylvania Hospital (the nation’s first hospital, chartered in 1751), as well as Penn Medicine at Home, GSPP Rehabilitation, Lancaster Behavioral Health, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.