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Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
About Us
The Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division at Weill Cornell Medicine provides exceptional, state-of-the-art care for children with a wide range of blood disorders and cancers. Each patient's plan is carefully tailored to his or her needs, with the goal of returning children to lives that are as normal and productive as possible.
What Sets Us Apart
- We are the most comprehensive center in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area for treating children with noncancerous (benign) blood disorders, with specific programs for platelet disorders, bleeding and clotting problems, as well as thalassemia and other red blood cell disorders.
- We offer a Children Adolescent and Young Adult Late Effects, Survivorship and Fertility Preservation program.
- Our Comprehensive Thalassemia Center is the oldest and one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States
- New York State Department of Health has recognized our practice as a designated Hemoglobinopathy Specialty Center providing comprehensive care to children and adolescents with disorders such as the thalassemia syndromes, sickle cell anemia, and other red blood cell disorders
Affiliated with Top-Ranked Komansky Children's Hospital
Our practice is affiliated with top-ranked NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Children's Hospital. Children and their families benefit from:
- Our board-certified pediatric specialists, who see patients exclusively in our newly renovated day-hospital facility — designed with children and adolescents in mind.
- Pediatric to adult transition care. As adolescents transition to the adult practice, our pediatric physicians continue to provide care in collaboration with colleagues trained in internal medicine.
- Emotional/psychological support. Expert and experienced social workers, a child life specialist, and an art therapist are available to help children and their families navigate their medical experience.
- Skilled pediatric nurses, who provide compassionate and expert care in our infusion center and facilitate the administration of medications, blood products, infusions, and chemotherapy in the newly renovated facility.
Diagnosis & Treatment
Our clinical practice is located in a recently renovated space on the sixth floor of the Payson Pavilion at the NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Children's Hospital at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Flooded with natural light and decorated with light woods, a cheerful New York City mosaic, and colored glass panels, our outpatient pediatric treatment center is comfortable and welcoming to patients of all ages, and their families.
Our Facility
Our facility consists of:
- Five examining rooms
- A procedure room
- A phlebotomy room
- A transfusion solarium which accommodates eight bays dedicated to the treatment of cancer and other diseases that require infusion/transfusion therapy.
What to Expect
Children are seen for consultations or ongoing treatment in our outpatient day hospital setting Monday through Friday. For children who are referred for a consultation, the visit typically last 1-2 hours.
In addition to our physicians and practitioners, our service is complemented by clinical and research nurses, a dedicated phlebotomist, two social workers, a child life therapist and an art therapist.
A dedicated phlebotomist is able to draw blood for testing in our facility itself. Some results are available within an hour and can be discussed right away during the visit, while others may be discussed the next day or when they are ready.
If radiologic tests are required, the Pediatric Radiology facility is just around the corner on the same floor.
For many children, there may be one or more follow up visits. Children who receive ongoing care for additional chronic conditions can see their dedicated provider on a regular basis, and receive most, if not all, of their treatment as an outpatient. Typically, an infusion of up to 4-6 hours may be administered in this manner. Children who need longer treatments may be admitted to the hospital.
Child Life Services and Creative Arts
Our child life therapist and art therapist see children while they may be waiting for test results, or while they are receiving their treatments.
Research
Research is a major focus of the Division. Our researchers are well known in their fields, and their work has been widely published. Specific areas of focus include both clinical and basic science, including the biology of cancer and metastasis, cancer survivorship and late effects, platelet disorders, and hemophilia, thrombosis and thalassemia clinical trials.
Our Services
Pediatric Hemostasis & Thrombosis Program
Services & Programs
Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC)
Weill Cornell Medicine's Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) is one of the oldest in the country and one of the first designated Hemophilia Treatment Centers, established in the 1970s by Margaret W. Hilgartner, MD. Our team provides state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary care for children and adolescents with bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other rare coagulation factor deficiencies, as well as those with blood clots, including monitoring of children on anti-coagulation therapy.
Our goal is to normalize a child's life as much as possible through home infusions for prophylaxis, counseling about activities and avoiding trauma, and preventive care from a team that includes physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, and genetic counselors, in addition to our pediatric physicians and nurses.
The HTC also conducts clinical trials of new factor replacement products and other new treatment.
Pediatric Thrombosis Program
The Pediatric Thrombosis program treats and manages children who have had blood clots, following them closely as long as they are on treatment.
Our team participates in clinical trials which study the new agents before they are approved, collecting important data on safety and efficacy.
Pediatric Thrombosis Registry
We have created a registry for any child with a blood clot, coupling clinical information with data on potential risk factors from procedures, immobility, genetics, lifestyle, medications, and activity to predict a child’s risk of further complications. The goal is to identify patients who may benefit from preventive anti-coagulation treatment.
For more information about the registry, please contact us at (212) 746-3400.
What Sets us Apart
- We have one of the first designated Hemophilia Treatment Centers, providing comprehensive care to children with inherited bleeding disorders including hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other rare coagulation factor deficiencies.
Pediatric Oncology Program
The Pediatric Oncology Program at Weill Cornell Medicine provides up-to-date comprehensive care to children and adolescents with all forms of childhood cancer. Our specialists have extensive expertise in leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas of bone and soft tissue. A child life therapist and an art therapist provide invaluable support to children and families getting their treatment in our newly renovated facility.
Services & Programs
Pediatric Cancer Program
Our healthcare team cares for children and adolescents with a variety of malignancies, with a focus on lymphoma or leukemia. An integrated team including physicians, a nurse practitioner, social worker, and child life therapist makes the experience as comfortable as possible for the child and family.
Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Lymphoma Program
We provide tailored, comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and follow-up care for adolescents and young adults. Our center features a special program — in collaboration with lymphoma specialists in adult oncology — for young adults with lymphoma, who generally have better results when treated using pediatric therapies.
Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship and Late Effects Program
This program provides ongoing care to survivors of pediatric and young adult cancers after completion of therapy for complications from their treatment, and the effects of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy that was administered.
What Sets us Apart
- We are original members of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the premier multi-center pediatric cancer clinical trials group.
Research
Clinical Trials
Eligible patients may have opportunities to participate in clinical trials of promising new therapies.
We are original members of the Childrens Oncology Group (COG), which is the premier multi-center pediatric cancer clinical trials group. Through COG our patients have access to the latest targeted and molecular cancer agents.
Basic Science
Our faculty is studying the biology of cancer, with special emphasis on the development of lymphomas and tumor metastasis. These efforts have a translational focus, with the goal of using the information gathered to design more targeted therapies.
Resources
- Children's Oncology Group (COG): COG, a National Cancer Institute supported clinical trials group, is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research.
- American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO): ASPHO is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to promoting the optimal care of children, adolescents and young adults with blood disorders and cancer by advancing research, education, treatment, and professional practice.
Pediatric Platelet Disorders Program
Established four decades ago, this is one of the first programs dedicated to children with platelet disorders such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), as well as inherited disorders or platelet production or function.
Research conducted over the years has contributed greatly to the development of newer therapies and treatment approaches to the management of these disorders. Children are able to be treated almost entirely on an outpatient basis.
Diagnosis & Treatment
Patients with acute (short-term) problems may be treated using standard therapies, while those with chronic conditions receive more complex, ongoing therapy.
We set the standard for the use in children of romiplastin (Nplate®) and eltrombopag (Promacta®), which promote platelet production.
What Sets us Apart
- Our Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology pioneered the use of innovative therapies for children using thrombopoietic agents such as romiplastin and eltrombopag.
Pediatric Thalassemia & Hemoglobinopathy Program
The Pediatric Thalassemia & Hemoglobinopathy Program follows children with inherited conditions such as thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, spherocytosis, and other red cell disorders, including children with anemia and iron excess/deficiency. We are able to provide transfusions on an outpatient basis, and have state-of-the-art radiology facilities for procedures like MRI for assessing tissue iron. Ongoing clinical trials in thalassemia are investigating the safety and efficacy of novel treatments which have the potential for significantly reducing the burden of this condition.
Services & Programs
Comprehensive Thalassemia Center
Our Comprehensive Thalassemia Center is the oldest and one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States. Individuals with thalassemia receive their transfusions in a new state-of-the-art day hospital setting, with a multidisciplinary team providing psychosocial services, thalassemia screening, and genetic counseling.
Directed by Dr. Sujit Sheth, the New York Comprehensive Thalassemia Center coordinates and links multiple services with the assistance of a nurse coordinator and a collaborative team of pediatric consultants including cardiologists, endocrinologists and gastroenterologists. Services are also provided by genetic counselors, social workers and psychologists. Optimal care requires routine surveillance and monitoring of patients’ conditions, treatment response, efficacy, safety and early interventions to minimize complications. A complex network of linked services are provided, ranging from screening, diagnosis, genetic counseling, prenatal diagnosis and psychosocial services, to specialized medical care and stem cell transplantation.
Transition Program
Many age-related health issues arise as patients with thalassemia transition from childhood into adulthood, including delayed puberty, fertility complications and early-onset osteoporosis. Transitioning is crucial to maintaining continuity of care and providing patients with best possible outcomes as adults.
Our team works with transitioning patients to increase their knowledge about their disease, discuss the importance of keeping appointments and calling the thalassemia center about any problems, encourage compliance and self-administration of medications and/or treatments with less parental involvement, and eventually transfer decision-making from parents to patients. This process gradually encourages more independent patient treatments and self-sufficient care.
Adult Transfusion Program
The adult transfusion program is located on the 3rd floor of the Starr Pavilion at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (NYPH/WCMC). To accommodate the needs of our adult population, this state-of-the-art facility conducts several transfusion sessions per week, including two evening sessions that allow patients to attend college classes or go to work during the day. As our patients with thalassemia survive longer through improvements in blood supply, transfusion therapy and iron chelation, they may require specialists to monitor for potential complications. These include cardiologists, endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, hepatologists, nephrologists and others. Emergency services are available 24 hours per day, and a telephone answering service is available after the clinic is closed.
Iron Chelation
A home care program for the administration of iron chelation is also coordinated within the Comprehensive Thalassemia Center. 24-hour emergency services, a telephone answering service, and access to hospital care for emergencies are available through the ER service at NYPH.
Diagnosis & Treatment
Our treatment center coordinates and links multiple services with the assistance of a nurse coordinator and a collaborative team of pediatric consultants including cardiologists, endocrinologists and gastroenterologists. Services are also provided by genetic counselors, social workers and psychologists.
We administer red blood cell transfusions and timely initiation of iron chelation to prevent the complications of transfusional iron overload. Quarterly, comprehensive evaluations and annual studies are provided to address the regular surveillance, monitoring, prevention and treatment of hepatic, endocrine and cardiac complications related to iron overload and the potential infectious contamination or alloimmunization from transfusions.
What Sets us Apart
- As one of the longest-standing care centers in the country, we have extensive experience and expertise in treating thalassemia.
- New York State Department of Health has recognized our practice as a designated Hemoglobinopathy Specialty Center providing comprehensive care to children and adolescents with disorders such as the thalassemia syndromes, sickle cell anemia, and other red blood cell disorders.
- The New York Comprehensive Thalassemia Center has a rich history of participating in and conducting clinical trials resulting in major advances in care and improvement in outcomes through a reduction in disease.
Research
The Comprehensive Thalassemia Center is committed to advancing the care of individuals with thalassemia through research and participation in clinical trials.
We have several research initiatives, including studies assessing the effectiveness of comprehensive care and quality of life, research utilizing MRI techniques to assess iron-related liver disease, and a clinical trial assessing the benefits of using fresher blood to reduce transfusion requirements.
We have several industry-sponsored, multicenter clinical trials underway. These include a Luspatercept study (Celgene’s BELIEVE trial), a pathogen inactivation study (Terumo’s PRAISE trial), and a deferasirox granules study (Novartis’ CICL670F2202 trial).
