Hawaii Opens First Cancer Clinical Trial Center

For decades, Hawaii cancer patients faced an impossible choice: stay home with loved ones or travel 2,500 miles to the mainland for potentially life-saving clinical trials.

That choice ended on July 6, 2026, when the University of Hawaii Cancer Center opened the Ho'ōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center in Honolulu. The word "Ho'ōla" means "to give life" in Hawaiian, and that's exactly what this historic facility promises to do.

Over 200 people gathered to celebrate the opening, including cancer survivors, doctors, researchers, and community leaders. A hālau of cancer survivors performed hula at the ceremony, followed by a traditional maile lei untying instead of a ribbon cutting.

Dr. Naoto T. Ueno, director of the UH Cancer Center and a two-time cancer survivor himself, calls the center "a new source of hope for cancer patients in Hawaii and the Pacific." For the first time in state history, qualifying patients can access promising investigational therapies without leaving their islands and families behind.

The need is urgent. Nearly 76,000 people in Hawaii are living with cancer, and about 2,519 residents die from the disease each year. Between 2021 and 2023, Hawaii residents spent at least $230 million on out-of-state cancer care.

The center will conduct Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, the crucial early testing that determines if new therapies are safe and effective. These trials follow strict safety protocols and represent how tomorrow's standard cancer treatments are developed today.

The Ripple Effect

Peter Hirano shared his wife Susan's story at the opening ceremony. Facing metastatic breast cancer, she was offered a clinical trial spot on the mainland. Despite knowing it might extend her life and let her see their son graduate high school, she declined to stay with her ohana in Honolulu. Susan passed away in April 2025, but not before becoming a Hope Ambassador for the center.

"She was convinced that the opening of Ho'ōla would give cancer patients hope," Peter said. "It would allow them to do what she couldn't: participate in a clinical trial while staying home with 'ohana."

U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono, herself a cancer survivor, emphasized the importance of this research. "If it were not for this kind of research and the kind of clinics that we are opening, then a number of us wouldn't be here right now," she told the crowd.

The center represents what's possible when government, healthcare, industry, and universities unite around a common goal: keeping families together while advancing medical science that will benefit patients worldwide.