Roswell Park Launches New ‘Research Matters’ Commercial

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is spotlighting research and the role it plays in advancing cancer care with its new ‘Research Matters’ commercial. The ad, set to make its television debut during Sunday’s big game, marks the beginning of a campaign focusing on the importance of research at National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers like Roswell Park.

The 60-second ad gives audiences a look at some of the cancer center’s most accomplished scientists conducting the research that keeps cancer care moving forward. It also highlights Roswell Park patients who today are able to receive life-saving treatments that started out as an idea someone wanted to test in the lab.

Since its inception in 1898, the cancer center has been at the forefront of research-based discoveries that have led to some of today’s most effective cancer therapies and new ways of detecting and preventing cancer of many types. Roswell Park discoveries include the first chemotherapy research program in 1904, the collection of data originally linking lung cancer and smoking in 1938, the creation of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for the early detection of prostate cancer in 1975, clinical studies of CAR T and cellular therapies available only at Roswell Park and the promising SurVaxM brain cancer immunotherapy now being studied in a late-phase clinical trial.

“For more than a century, research has been at the heart of Roswell Park’s mission,” says Candace S. Johnson, PhD, President, CEO and M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership at Roswell Park. “By continuing to invest in discovery, we are driving progress against cancer and delivering better outcomes for patients today and in the future. Research matters — it is not optional.”

The American Cancer Society’s 2026 Annual Statistics Report confirms the role research plays in patient outcomes, noting that five-year survival has improved dramatically for distant-stage cancer since the mid 1990s. Survival doubled for all cancers combined (from 17% to 35%), for melanoma (16% to 35%), and for rectal cancer (8% to 18%).

Roswell Park is previewing the video on its social media platforms before it hits the air regionally during the biggest football game of the year. The cancer center encourages anyone who has benefited from medical research advancements or who are encouraged by the progress made thanks to research to share and engage on social media. 

Note to media: A downloadable version of the ad is available upon request.

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From the world’s first chemotherapy research to the PSA prostate cancer biomarker, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center generates innovations that shape how cancer is detected, treated and prevented worldwide. The Roswell Park team of 4,000+ makes compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and services accessible across New York State and beyond. Rated “Exceptional” by the National Cancer Institute, Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country and remains the only one in Upstate New York. To learn more about Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Roswell Park Care Network, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.