Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy

Cellular therapies are treatments that use cells from our immune system to eliminate cancer or disease. Specific cells are collected from either blood or a tumor, and in a lab are genetically modified to help them fight diseases, including cancer. Then, these immune cells are infused into the patient where they will destroy the diseased cells.

Our Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). This accreditation reflects our commitment to the highest standards of quality, safety, and innovation in cellular therapy. Patients and families can trust that every aspect of our care, from collection and processing to treatment and follow-up care meets rigorous national and international benchmarks for excellence.

A bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, is an effective medical treatment for people who are diagnosed with serious blood diseases. A stem cell transplant is a treatment used to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy stem cells. Stem cells are special cells that can grow into many different types of blood cells, like red blood or white blood cells, and platelets. These cells are essential for your body to function properly.

A stem cell transplant allows doctors to give high doses of chemotherapy and radiation to treat a disease and then restore healthy bone marrow using the stem cells.

It can help:

• Rebuild your immune system
• Restore healthy blood cell production
• Treat or even cure some serious diseases

• Autologous transplant – Your own stem cells are collected, stored, and then given back to you after treatment with chemotherapy.
• Allogeneic transplant – Stem cells are donated by a healthy donor to you. This can be from a family member or a matched donor.
• Syngeneic transplant – Stem cells are donated by an identical twin.

CAR-T therapy, also known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy, is an effective treatment for people who are diagnosed with serious blood cancers. CAR-T therapy is a type of cellular therapy that changes your body’s T-cells. T-cells are a type of white blood cell that is naturally a part of your immune system. The use of cellular therapy can improve your immune system’s ability to fight your cancer. CAR-T is a therapy that is mainly used for certain types of blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. CAR-T offers new hope for patients, especially when other treatments haven’t worked.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is an advanced form of cancer immunotherapy that uses your body’s own immune cells, called lymphocytes, to fight cancer. Lymphocytes are collected by surgically removing part of the patient’s tumor and sending it to a specialized lab where the lymphocytes are removed and allowed to multiply which allows them to kill cancer cells more effectively. TIL therapy offers a promising option for patients with hard-to-treat solid tumors.

Gene Therapy, also known as a genetically modified stem cell transplant, is an effective medical treatment for people who are diagnosed with specific blood diseases. Gene therapy is a medical treatment that uses genetic material to modify, repair, or replace faulty genes within a person’s own cells. By addressing the root cause of the disease at the genetic level, gene therapy aims to restore normal function or provide new functions to cells, offering the potential for long-lasting or even curative treatments.

What are the different types of gene therapies?

• Gene Editing – Using tools such a CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) to correct or remove faulty sections of DNA within a gene.
• Cell-Based Gene Therapy – Collecting a patient’s own cells, modifying them genetically in a lab, and returning them to the patient to restore or enhance function.