KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A health system based in Kansas City, Missouri, has signed an agreement with Washington University in St. Louis that gives patients access to clinical trials through the university’s National Cancer Institute-supported research.

The Kansas City Star reports the agreement between St. Luke’s Health System and the university’s Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center will take effect June 1. Patients should start having access to trials by late summer.

The partnership puts St. Luke’s in competition with the University of Kansas Health System, which has a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Siteman is considered a “comprehensive” cancer center, which is one step above Kansas’ designation.

National Cancer Institute spokeswoman Shannon Hatch says it’s pointless to compare the two because each will offer some treatments that the other doesn’t provide.