Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program

Also known as a bone marrow transplant, a stem cell transplant is used in cancer treatment to replace damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells. Autologous transplants involve cells that have come from your own body. Allogeneic transplants involve cells that have come from related or unrelated donors. Both types are available in the Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy program.

Stem cell transplants are a treatment option for certain blood disorders and cancers, including:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
• Hodgkin lymphoma
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
• Myelofibrosis
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

If you need a stem cell transplant, your care team will ensure you receive any needed tests or medications to prepare for your transplant.

For an allogeneic stem cell transplant, your care team will work to identify an appropriate donor, either among your relatives or through national programs such as the Marrow Donor Program (also known as Be the Match). 

With either type of transplant, you’ll receive treatment that will destroy the diseased cells in your body. The healthy cells – either yours or the donor’s – are infused into your body through an IV. They will travel to the bone marrow to start repopulating your bloodstream with healthy blood cells.

Afterward, you’ll need to stay in the hospital for several weeks in a private room designed to protect you from germs. Your family will be able to visit and will receive options for staying nearby. Our entire team will work seamlessly to support you throughout your care journey, answering any questions you or your family members have and prioritizing your comfort alongside your treatment outcomes.

CAR-T treatment involves extracting T cells from your blood. T cells are a kind of lymphocyte, or white blood cell, that defends your body against disease.

They are sent to a lab, where they are changed by adding a protein called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). This protein acts like a navigation system that helps the T cells track down and kill cancer cells. These altered T cells – now called CAR-T cells – are multiplied in the lab and reinfused into your bloodstream.

Prior to receiving CAR-T therapy, you will undergo a complete workup. The staff assesses lung, heart and other organ functions to ensure you have no comorbidities and can receive treatment safely. If no problems are found and the CAR-T process is started, you may receive “bridging therapy,” using chemotherapy or radiation. This is to keep the cancer under control while your cells are being reengineered. It also reduces the number of lymphocytes so the CAR-T cells can grow more effectively.

After CAR-T therapy, you will be admitted to the hospital – from several days to up to two weeks – so you can be monitored for any side effects.

Lymphocytes (white blood cells) are part of your body’s immune system and fight off infections by identifying cells – such as cancer – that shouldn’t be there.

When lymphocytes recognize an abnormal cell, they penetrate it and become tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs. Once in the tumor, they begin killing the cancer, but sometimes need help. 

As part of TIL therapy, surgeons remove a piece of the cancerous tumor and send it to a lab where your cancer-fighting cells are multiplied. You then receive the cells back through an infusion. You also will be given a growth factor so the TILs can do a better job of fighting cancer. 

TIL therapy is FDA-approved for those who have metastatic melanoma that has not responded to other treatments.