For more than 60 years the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been committed to increasing cure rates and improving quality of survival for children, adolescents and young adults through outstanding clinical care, innovative research, academic excellence and global leadership.

The Cancer and Blood Disease Institute has been ranked among the leading pediatric cancer programs in the United States by U.S. News & World Report every year since the rankings were launched in 2008.

The Institute—one of the largest nationally ranked pediatric hematology, oncology, and transplantation and cellular therapy programs in the United States—cares for over 6,000 patients and conducts more than 30,000 outpatient visits every year for patients and families from around the world.

Access to cutting-edge therapies

The Institute’s Clinical Trials Program is one of the largest devoted to children with cancer and blood disorders, and is home to multiple leading international pediatric consortia, including New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT), Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia & Lymphoma (TACL), and Children’s Hospital Acquired Thrombosis Network (CHAT). The Institute is also a member of 20 additional leading pediatric hematology-oncology clinical trials consortia.

World-class clinical care

The Cancer and Blood Disease Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles treats many of the sickest children and has one of the highest survival rates among the top pediatric cancer programs in the United States. At the Institute—one of the few in the U.S. with access to an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit on campus—oncologists focus on early diagnosis, innovative multidisciplinary treatment, quality of life and long-term follow-up care for all patients.

The Institute’s oncology specialists use the latest technology for tumor surgery and reconstruction, employing minimally invasive techniques whenever possible. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Program includes one of the largest chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy programs in the U.S. treating children and young adults with relapsed and refractory leukemia and lymphomas. The Radiation Oncology Program is one of only three dedicated freestanding pediatric programs in the U.S. and includes onsite state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and it is the first to meet the standards for APEx (Accreditation Program for Excellence) accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology. The Institute’s Oncology Section also includes the following dedicated, multidisciplinary teams:

• Neuro-oncology Program

• Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors Program (including sarcoma)

• Neuroblastoma Program

• Retinoblastoma Program

The Institute’s highly skilled hematologists are experts in and treat the full spectrum of pediatric blood disorders. Specialized, multidisciplinary programs include red blood cell disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease and thalassemia), hemostasis and thrombosis (e.g., hemophilia and other coagulation disorders), bone marrow failure (e.g., aplastic anemia), white blood cell disorders, iron overload and epidermolysis bullosa. Through these programs, our physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical nurses, social workers and other interdisciplinary caregivers offer patients and families comprehensive care including counseling and education in health maintenance, nutrition and pain management.

The Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program performs approximately 100 blood and marrow transplants annually, including autologous and allogeneic transplants from family and unrelated donors utilizing marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells. Transplantation is utilized for the full spectrum of oncologic, hematologic, metabolic and immune disorders. The Institute is pioneering the use of cellular immunotherapies for children with cancer who have exhausted other curative options. Additional areas of expertise include reduced toxicity pre-transplant approaches and haploidentical donor transplantation.

The Survivorship and Supportive Care (SSC) Program offers a broad array of psychosocial clinical services aimed at improving quality of life for our patients and families during and after treatment. Within the SSC Program, the HOPE Behavioral Health, Neuropsychology and Education Service provides multidisciplinary psychosocial support and health education to patients diagnosed and treated in the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute. The Medical Supportive Care Service advances care that reduces side effects and other negative consequences of cancer, serious blood diseases and their treatments.

The Center for Global Health