Clínica Universidad de Navarra

Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN) is one of Spain's most respected and internationally recognized university hospitals, located at Avenida Pío XII 36 in Pamplona, Navarra. Founded in 1962 as the teaching hospital of the University of Navarra, CUN embodies the University's mission of integrating cutting-edge biomedical research with compassionate, person-centred clinical care. The clinical staff of approximately 2,000 professionals — many of whom are simultaneously medical school faculty members — brings together deep clinical expertise and active research engagement in a way that benefits every patient treated at the hospital.

CUN is consistently ranked among the top three or four hospitals in Spain across major domestic hospital rankings, reflecting its sustained excellence across a broad range of clinical specialties. Its international reputation is particularly strong in oncology, where the Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA — Center for Applied Medical Research) on the same campus houses one of Spain's most productive cancer research institutes, translating laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and novel treatment approaches. CUN's oncology program is recognized as one of the most comprehensive in the Iberian Peninsula.

Beyond oncology, the hospital has earned an international reputation in organ transplantation — particularly liver transplantation — cardiovascular surgery, haematology and bone marrow transplantation, neurosciences, immunology, and hepatology. The hospital has also developed a strong program in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, reflecting the University of Navarra's research leadership in these areas. Despite its academic hospital status and national prestige, CUN prides itself on maintaining genuinely personalized care — individual specialists invest significant time in each patient consultation, and the hospital's architecture and service model are designed with the patient's wellbeing and comfort at the forefront.

The Clínica Universidad de Navarra offers clinical services across more than 50 medical and surgical specialties, with particular depth and national or international renown in the following areas. The oncology program, supported by CIMA's translational research, provides multidisciplinary tumor boards for all major cancer types, surgical oncology, medical oncology including immunotherapy and CAR-T cell therapy clinical programs, advanced radiation oncology, and haematological oncology encompassing lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma, and stem cell transplantation. Liver and digestive organ transplantation is one of the hospital's historic strengths, with hundreds of liver transplants performed and a program of continuous refinement in living-donor and split-liver techniques. Cardiovascular surgery encompasses coronary artery bypass, valve repair and replacement (including transcatheter approaches), aortic surgery, and paediatric cardiac surgery. The neurosciences department covers neurosurgery (brain tumors, epilepsy surgery, deep brain stimulation, vascular neurosurgery), neurology (multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, dementia, epilepsy), and neurophysiology. The immunology department is internationally recognized for research and clinical management of autoimmune diseases, primary immunodeficiencies, and allergic disorders. Orthopaedic surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, ophthalmology, gynaecology and obstetrics, urology, endocrinology, pulmonology, infectious diseases, and dermatology departments complete the comprehensive clinical offering.

The Clínica Universidad de Navarra campus in Pamplona integrates a modern hospital building with the adjacent CIMA research institute, creating an environment where clinical innovation and patient care coexist on a daily basis. The hospital is equipped with dedicated surgical suites across specialties, including neurosurgical theatres with intraoperative MRI capability for real-time tumor resection guidance, hybrid cardiovascular operating rooms combining surgical and interventional capabilities, transplant operating suites, and robotic surgery systems. Advanced diagnostic imaging includes 3T MRI (including intraoperative MRI), PET-CT, multi-slice CT, digital angiography, and ultrasound. The radiation oncology department operates a linear accelerator with IMRT and stereotactic capabilities, supplemented by a brachytherapy suite. A bone marrow transplant unit with HEPA-filtered isolation rooms supports the haematology transplant program. The hospital's intensive care units are equipped for cardiac, neurological, and general post-operative care. A dedicated day hospital allows chemotherapy, biotherapy, and ambulatory procedure administration without inpatient admission. CIMA's research laboratories — directly connected to the clinical campus — include genomics, immunology, and gene therapy facilities that feed directly into clinical trial programs open to patients at CUN. The hospital's physical environment reflects its commitment to patient comfort, with private rooms, natural light, and dedicated pastoral care and chaplaincy services.

Clínica Universidad de Navarra welcomes international patients seeking the highest level of medical expertise in Spain, with a dedicated international patient service providing English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Arabic language support. The international department coordinates pre-arrival specialist consultations (in person or via telemedicine), review of overseas medical records and pathology materials, and preparation of comprehensive treatment plans with transparent cost estimates. Patients from outside Spain are assisted with travel to Pamplona — accessible via Pamplona Airport (with connections to Madrid and Barcelona for onward international flights), or by train or car from Bilbao or Madrid airports. The hospital's location in Pamplona provides access to a compact, easy-to-navigate Basque city with good hotel and apartment options near the CUN campus. For oncology second opinions — a frequent request from international patients — the hospital's CIMA-supported multidisciplinary tumor boards provide rigorous expert assessment. CUN's international patient experience has been built over decades of treating patients from France (which borders Navarra), Latin America, the Arab world, and beyond. Post-discharge coordination with referring physicians is provided in writing in the patient's preferred language.

Clínica Universidad de Navarra holds JCAHO-International (Joint Commission International) accreditation, confirming adherence to the highest global standards of hospital quality and patient safety. The hospital is additionally certified under Spanish national healthcare quality standards administered by the Joint Commission Spain (JCS), and its laboratories hold UNE-EN-ISO 15189 accreditation for clinical analytical quality. The oncology program's participation in EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer) clinical trials ensures that its cancer research meets the most rigorous international methodological and ethical standards. The haematology department's stem cell transplant program is certified by the European Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) registry, providing an additional quality benchmark for this specialist service. Medical staff are credentialed through the Spanish medical council system and many hold international specialist certifications from the American or European Boards. CIMA's research activities are overseen by Spanish and European research ethics committees and funded by competitive national and European research grants, attesting to its scientific quality. CUN publishes annual quality and outcomes reports providing transparency on clinical performance metrics.