Leukemia and Lymphoma Program

Our leading-edge radiation therapies deliver high doses of radiation while sparing healthy tissue. They include:

• Proton therapy, which is one of the most precise and advanced forms of radiation therapy available in the world today. In the hands of the expert cancer team at Cincinnati Children’s, specialized pencil beam technology destroys cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues and organs. Our Proton Therapy Center is one of only two such centers in the world owned by a children’s hospital.
• Shaped-beam stereotactic radiation therapy, which delivers high doses of radiation using custom-shaped beams 
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy, which allows physicians to modulate the intensity of radiation beams and deliver radiation that conforms to the tumor’s shape

The Bone Marrow Transplantation Program at Cincinnati Children’s is one of the largest in the country and an international leader in the development of new transplant regimens for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and myelodysplasia.

Our team has performed more than 2,000 bone marrow transplants, making us one of the most experienced pediatric transplant programs in the world. Our specialists have developed transplant procedures that are now the standard of care in 240 cancer centers throughout North America. Currently, we perform transplants on more than 100 children a year, with a 96 percent survival rate − significantly higher than the national average.

Our bone marrow transplantation team specializes in innovative approaches to transplant therapy. The team:

• Has extensive experience in performing complex stem cell transplants from unrelated donors 
• Utilizes reduced-intensity preparative regimens, which offer lower doses of chemotherapy with the potential for fewer side effects
• Pioneered new applications for bone marrow transplant, such as transplant for autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome

Immunotherapy is designed to help the body’s own immune system fight cancer cells. Recently Cincinnati Children’s became one of the first pediatric hospitals to provide CAR T-cell therapy, an exciting new immunotherapy for patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This groundbreaking therapy offers hope to patients with ALL who have a treatment-resistant form of the disease, and those who have relapsed after bone marrow transplant. Learn more about CAR T-cell therapy.