The world-renowned experts of the Pediatric Blood Cancer Program provide care for all childhood blood cancers. We have tailored our program to meet the needs of children in every way, from the kid-friendly design of our facilities to the pediatric focus of our doctors, nurses and social workers. Our services cover a broad age span, from infants to adolescents and even young adults (up to age 30).
Our program offers the kind of advanced care available only at select hospitals around the country. Some highlights:
- Access to promising new therapies. Patients may be eligible for treatments under evaluation in studies called clinical trials, thanks to our participation in such national research organizations as the Children's Oncology Group, Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma Consortium, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Consortium.
- Immunotherapy, including CAR T-cell therapy. We have extensive expertise in treating blood cancers with immunotherapy (deploying the patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells), and we're the first medical center in California certified to provide one such treatment, CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically engineers the patient's own T cells to attack their tumors.
- A leader in JMML care. We're a nationally recognized center of excellence for treating juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), an extremely rare cancer. We lead or participate in more clinical trials for this disease and see more JMML patients than any other medical center in the country.
- Precise and personalized treatments. Patients may have access to clinical trials investigating the genetic mutations linked to their conditions, information that can enable us to target their specific cancers with cutting-edge therapies.
- Success with bone marrow transplantation. Some patients benefit from this therapy, and those treated in our Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinic have some of the nation's highest survival rates one year after the procedure.
- Excellent follow-up care. After patients complete their treatment, we have a Pediatric Survivorship Program that helps monitor them for potential long-term side effects. The continuity of care available through UCSF Health extends into adulthood.
Our goal for all our patients is for them to get better as quickly as possible with as few side effects as possible. We help kids go back to enjoying normal lives.
We are committed to serving patients from all cultures and backgrounds. For patients whose first language isn't English, we provide interpreters to ensure clear and easy communication.
