Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Tops U.S. Pediatric Cancer Rankings

U.S. News & World Report has named Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center the No. 1 pediatric cancer program in the United States in its 2026-2027 Best Children’s Hospitals report. The honor recognizes the Boston-based center’s work across cancer treatment, clinical outcomes, adherence to established care practices and patient-care resources. U.S. News developed the rankings with RTI International by collecting and analyzing data from 114 children’s hospitals and surveying thousands of pediatric specialists. Hospitals selected for a “Best” designation were evaluated on factors including clinical outcomes, compliance with best practices, and the level and quality of resources directly related to patient care.

The distinction follows a sustained record of national recognition: Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s has ranked among the three highest pediatric cancer centers every year since U.S. News began the ranking in 2007, according to the announcement. The center has received more No. 1 rankings than any other program. The result is based on comparative institutional data and specialist assessments rather than a single clinical trial or newly reported treatment outcome. It also does not, by itself, establish that the ranked program produces better survival outcomes than every other pediatric cancer center. Instead, it is a magazine-based assessment of quality measures and resources across a group of hospitals.

Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s brings together Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, two Harvard Medical School affiliates with a shared clinical staff. The partnership provides inpatient care and surgery at Boston Children’s, while most outpatient care is delivered at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The two institutions have provided comprehensive care for children with cancer and blood disorders since 1947, combining hospital-based treatment with a research and teaching mission. Their pediatric oncology and hematology teams also train clinicians and investigators, linking patient care to academic medicine and the development of new approaches to childhood cancer.

Leadership at the center attributed the recognition to its emphasis on personalized care, clinical excellence, patient safety and research-led innovation. The ranking covers an organization in which cancer research and clinical care are closely connected; the wider Dana-Farber system says it offers more than 1,200 clinical trials, although the supplied announcement does not specify how many concern pediatric cancer. Separately, U.S. News has ranked Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center as the Best Hospital for Cancer in Massachusetts and third nationally, while recognizing Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s as the country’s Best Children’s Hospital for Cancer. Taken together, those designations place Dana-Farber among the few systems recognized in the top three for both adult and pediatric cancer care, according to the release.

Subject of Research: National ranking of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s pediatric cancer program based on hospital quality measures and specialist surveys.

Article Title: Dana-Farber/Boston Children's named the top pediatric cancer program in the nation for 2026-2027

Article References: Dana-Farber/Boston Children's named the top pediatric cancer program in the nation for 2026-2027. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: pediatric cancer, Dana-Farber, Boston Children’s, hospital rankings, childhood cancer care, clinical outcomes, patient safety, cancer research, U.S. News, hematology and oncology, Boston, Children's