ENCancer hospitals in Munich are not one kind of place: cancer is treated at two university hospitals, a municipal general hospital, the Red Cross hospital and outpatient practices, and each has a different role. University centres take on complex and rare cases, while a practice suits patients whose treatment is already set and needs to continue.
This page explains who treats what, how a cancer centre differs from a practice, how to choose by diagnosis and how to get there from abroad.
The LMU Comprehensive Cancer Center
The cancer centre of LMU University Hospital is the CCC MünchenLMU, a Comprehensive Cancer Center: not a separate building, but the union of all the hospital’s departments that treat cancer. At its core is the joint tumour board, where a surgeon, an oncologist, a radiation oncologist and other specialists discuss each case and decide how treatment should begin. Such centres also run clinical research into new treatments. The LMU Comprehensive Cancer Center is directed by oncologist Prof. Volker Heinemann; his deputy is surgeon Prof. Jens Werner.
Precision oncology, choosing drugs by the genetic changes in a tumour, is based at the Centre for Personalised Medicine, headed by PD Dr Benedikt Westphalen: tumour samples undergo molecular testing, and a molecular tumour board reviews the results. LMU Klinikum also has a urology clinic directed by Prof. Christian Stief and a neurosurgery clinic under Prof. Florian Ringel, whose focuses include neuro-oncology, the treatment of brain tumours.
Rechts der Isar: Cancer Care at the Technical University
Rechts der Isar is the university hospital of the Technical University of Munich (TUM Klinikum), where several clinics share cancer care. Drug treatment of cancer, including blood cancers, is led by the haematology and oncology clinic of Prof. Florian Bassermann, and surgery by Prof. Helmut Friess. More about the hospital as a whole is on the Rechts der Isar Hospital page.
Urological tumours are a separate field. The urology clinic is directed by Prof. Jürgen Gschwend, who also heads the ProstaTUM prostate cancer centre, the bladder cancer centre and the uro-oncology centre.
München Klinik Bogenhausen and the Red Cross Hospital
München Klinik Bogenhausen is a general hospital owned by the city, the sole shareholder of the München Klinik group. Prof. Tobias Herold heads its department of haematology, oncology, stem cell transplantation and palliative medicine; a stem cell transplant replaces the blood-forming cells after high-dose chemotherapy, which suppresses the patient’s own blood production. Dr Martin Fuchs heads the oncology centre and the centre for digestive tract tumours. Prof. Ayman Agha, head of general and visceral surgery, is deputy head of the bowel and pancreatic cancer centres, and PD Dr Atiqullah Aziz leads the prostate cancer centre and the uro-oncology centre.
Rotkreuzklinikum München, the Red Cross hospital, runs a centre for haematological neoplasms: malignant diseases of the blood and lymphatic system, such as acute and chronic leukaemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and some other bone marrow diseases. The centre is certified according to the requirements of the German Cancer Society (DKG).
Treatment without a Hospital Stay: Practice and Radiotherapy
Not every cancer centre in Munich is a hospital: chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be given on an outpatient basis, without an overnight stay. The Münchner Onkologie practice is a specialist practice for oncology, haematology and drug treatment of tumours in Munich’s old town, run by Dr Daniela Grenacher-Horn. Its day clinic gives chemotherapy: the infusion may run in the morning, and by the evening the patient is back at the hotel.
The radiotherapy centre in Pasing, Strahlentherapie Pasing, is a practice specialising in radiotherapy, owned by Dr Peter Stoll. Patients usually come once their oncologists have included radiotherapy in the treatment plan, bringing their reports and scans. After a consultation, a planning CT scan is done, doctors and medical physicists calculate the radiation from it, and the sessions are outpatient.
Frequently asked questions
How does a cancer centre differ from an oncology practice?
A cancer centre is a hospital or a network of its departments: surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatment are available when needed, and a tumour board of different specialists discusses the plan. An oncology practice is outpatient: the oncologist prescribes drug treatment and gives chemotherapy in a day clinic, and the patient sleeps at home or in a hotel. Complex treatment therefore usually starts at a centre, while it can often be continued at a practice.
Can chemotherapy started at home be continued in Munich?
Yes, if a German oncologist reviews the discharge reports and test results and agrees with the current regimen or suggests changing it. Courses without a hospital stay can be given in the day clinic of a practice or a university hospital. Bring details of which drugs and doses have already been given and how well they were tolerated. The hospital or practice itself decides whether to accept the patient.
How can I tell whether a cancer centre suits my diagnosis?
A suitable centre regularly treats your type of tumour and discusses every case at a tumour board. In Germany, many such centres are certified by the German Cancer Society, and they can be searched by tumour type in the OncoMap directory. Another sign is the hospital’s participation in clinical trials, which sometimes give access to new treatments. Certification is not mandatory, so the final judgement belongs to the doctor who reviews your records.
How AlenMed Arranges Cancer Treatment in Munich
AlenMed helps choose a department that fits the diagnosis, sends the request and organises the trip. The place depends on diagnosis, stage and what is needed now: surgery, radiotherapy or drugs alone. Complex and rare cases are best handled at the university centres, while chemotherapy already under way may be continued at a practice. The request needs discharge reports, the pathology report, tissue blocks if available and recent CT and MRI scans on disc, all translated. A separate page describes cancer treatment in Germany in general, and the National Cancer Institute lists questions to ask when choosing a cancer centre or hospital.
We send the request to the chosen departments; the hospital reviews the documents, decides on admission and issues a cost estimate, and the patient pays the hospital directly. We help with the visa invitation, accommodation and an interpreter for appointments. AlenMed’s office is in Munich, so we are close by throughout treatment.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by the doctor at an in-person consultation.