Blood Cancer Program

Delivering tomorrow's advances in cancer care to those who need them today

• One of the world's largest and most successful bone marrow and blood stem cell transplant programs
• More than 19,000 bone marrow and stem cell transplants performed and recognized as the only cancer center nationwide to exceed outcome expectations for patients for 15 consecutive years
• Instrumental in developing new bispecific T-cell engager therapies
• First to offer CAR T trials targeting CD123 in acute myeloid leukemia and use CAR T cell therapy to treat patients with the rare disease blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
• Expertise with rare lymphoma subtypes, including peripheral T cell lymphoma, double-hit B cell lymphomas and AIDS-related lymphomas
• The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research has ranked City of Hope as an “overperforming” transplant center
  
  

At City of Hope Cancer Center, we offer the full spectrum of transplantation services, including autologous and allogeneic transplantations. Our program is led by Tulio Rodriguez, M.D., who has performed more than 2,500 bone marrow transplant (BMT) procedures to date.

Additionally, we are:

• Extending curative BMT therapy to more patients — With regimens that capitalize on graft-vs-tumor effect rather than on intense chemotherapy and radiation, this curative therapy is available to patients over 70 years of age.
• Breaking the age barrier for BMT candidacy — Older patients with acute leukemias and myeloproliferative disorders are evaluated for BMT like their younger counterparts, with the expectation of long-term cure of their bone marrow disorder.
• Offering groundbreaking chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for various forms of lymphomas — Relapsed lymphomas affect millions of patients worldwide and recognizing the urgent need for advanced treatment modalities addressing this unmet need, City of Hope Cancer Center has developed a state-of the art CAR T cell program designated to address this critical gap in care.

As part of the BMT program, we offer a 15-bed stem cell inpatient unit with full amenities to ensure patients are comfortable and safe while they are onsite for their transplantation. After discharge the patients have the option to stay on-site at the Tower Guest Quarters during the active out patient follow-up period. Additionally, BMT patients are monitored in a formal follow-up program for long-term effects and given timely interventions should any arise.