Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Lehigh Valley Health Network have announced a collaboration to give patients access to the latest and most effective cancer treatment advances and highest-caliber cancer care.

Leaders from both institutions gathered to mark the first step in announcing their recently signed agreement for LVHN to join the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance.Established in 2013, the MSK Cancer Alliance is a dynamic partnership between MSK and community oncology providers that aims to bring the most current knowledge and advanced cancer care into the community setting.In September 2014, Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, part of a multihospital health care system in Connecticut, became MSK's first Alliance member."Memorial Sloan Kettering chose Lehigh Valley Health Network because of our dedication to delivering high-quality, consistent cancer care across the region, and because of the proven expertise of our physicians and medical teams," said Brian Nester, DO, President and CEO of LVHN. "Our collaboration with MSK will save lives by bringing evidence-based, world-class standards to our entire health network.""We believe the highest-quality cancer care cannot be achieved through adhering to practice recommendations alone," said José Baselga, physician in chief of MSK. "MSK's strong desire to rapidly accelerate the pace of integrating these advances into the community setting, and our approach, will demonstrate real value to MSK and LVHN, and most importantly will improve the lives of the patients we care for."We look forward to learning firsthand how advances can be more easily applied in a community setting through the MSK Cancer Alliance, while doing so in the most cost-effective way, since our alliance does not require major structural changes such as the development of new facilities."With more than 800 clinical trials currently available at its facilities, MSK is leading the nation's effort in seeking new and better ways to treat cancer, and being able to provide LVHN patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials not previously available will only further that mission.Memorial Sloan Kettering is the world's oldest and largest private cancer center, home to more than 14,000 physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff united by a relentless dedication to conquering cancer.As an independent institution, it combines 130 years of research and clinical leadership with the freedom to provide highly individualized, exceptional care to each patient.For more information, go to

www.mskcc.org.Additional information is available at lvhn.org, and by following them on Facebook.com/LVHealthNetwork and Twitter.com/ LVHN.