In 1872, the New York Skin and Cancer Hospital was founded as the first hospital in America devoted to cancer and skin disorders. Today, the Cancer Hospital is known as the Skin and Cancer Unit of the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, and is an outpatient dermatology teaching center.

Patients at the Skin and Cancer Unit, with its 150-year history of combining outstanding patient care with world-class medical education, are seen by both a physician undertaking advanced dermatology training, called a resident, along with an NYU Langone physician, known as an attending physician.