Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute saw operating income increase 20 percent year over year to $27.3 million in the first two quarters of its fiscal year, according to the Boston Business Journal.
The financial boost was largely due to an increase in patient volume. In the two quarters that ended March 31, the hospital had 3,216 more infusion visits and 38,201 more clinic visits than in the same two quarters of the year prior.
Two new immunotherapy drugs — one for the treatment of lung and renal cell cancer and one for the treatment of melanoma — have resulted in more patients coming to the hospital to receive care. "These immunotherapy agents have been credited with achieving dramatic remissions in many patients with advanced cancer who had no other treatment options," hospital spokesman John Noble told the Boston Business Journal.
Dana-Farber also benefited from an 11 percent year-over-year increase in unrestricted philanthropy, which rose to $50.4 million in the first two quarters of its fiscal year.
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