St. Elizabeth Healthcare isn't alone in seeking recognition as the region's top cancer care provider.

TriHealth plans to build a $62 million cancer care center that will encompass 80,000 square feet on the campus of Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery.

And the Cincinnati Cancer Center – which consists of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, UC Health and Cincinnati Children's Hospital – aims to raise $105 million to build infrastructure and recruit talent needed to win designation as a national hub for research. The group will apply to the National Cancer Institute for the designation.

Most of the nation's 69 National Cancer Institute-designated centers offer patients access to clinical trials. St. Elizabeth CEO Garren Colvin noted that a 2012 affiliation with the Mayo Clinic, an NCI-designated center in Minnesota, already provides St. E patients with access to some drug trials. And St. E is now partnering with the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center, another NCI-designated site, to access additional trials.

"Ours is not a me-too project," Colvin said. "We're not striving to get NCI accreditation, but we want to recruit physicians who want to be part of a program that strives for that level of research."

Dr. Doug Flora, interim medical director of the St. Elizabeth cancer center, said St. E is prepared to work with UC at any level and support its candidacy for NCI designation.

"They have expertise in translational bench research and access to some Phase 1 clinical trials that could be beneficial to our patients," he said. Flora doesn't see centers being built by UC and TriHealth as direct competitors.

"There's a friendly rivalry here," Flora said. "I support their growth, but they're not going to have a place like this when they're done."