CENTERVILLE — A new comprehensive cancer center now under construction at Miami Valley Hospital South will join a trend in cancer treatment toward outpatient settings, a hospital executive said Friday.

“Many patients now receive the majority of their care in these centers, and this new facility is designed around that trend,” Miami Valley Hospital President and CEO Bobbie Gerhart told a crowd that gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking. “Patients will be able to receive all facets of their care: chemotherapy, radiation therapy and ongoing medical supervision in one location.”

Slated for occupancy in January 2013, the $20 million, 87,000-square-foot building will house the cancer center and physician offices. It also will include a conference center for patient education and support groups, as well as interdisciplinary medical conferences that help determine patient treatment plans, Gerhart said.

Miami Valley’s specialized services for women with ovarian and uterine cancer will also move to the Miami Valley Hospital South campus, which is located at Clyo Road and Wilmington Pike.

The facility will be built, managed and owned by Miami Valley Hospital, and will be operated collaboratively by the hospital, Dayton Physicians Network and Radiation Oncology Services.

“A diagnosis of cancer, perhaps more than any other medical condition, is often associated with an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety,” Dr. Charles Bane of Dayton Physicians Network said at Friday’s groundbreaking. “Knowing where to turn for help can be a tremendous source of comfort. This facility will be that source of comfort.”

MVH South’s cancer center is a bid to keep patients from leaving the region to seek cancer care elsewhere, Gerhart has said. About 18 percent of local cancer patients leave the area for treatment, she said.

More than 4,000 people in Montgomery and Greene counties are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2012, Gerhart has said.