As a patient in the Center for Hematologic Oncology, you will be treated by a dedicated team committed to delivering safe, high-quality patient care. Our specialists will work with you to create a treatment plan tailored to your type of cancer and your lifestyle, to achieve the best possible outcome.
About the Center
The Center for Hematologic Oncology provides specialized care for all types of cancers of the blood, including leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, as well as related disorders of the blood, such as aplastic anemia and myelodysplasia.
The center also includes the bone marrow/stem cell transplantation program, which is one of the largest and most experienced in the world.
We develop personalized, comprehensive treatment plans for all our patients, offering the latest therapies and supportive resources, and taking your particular needs into account.
Our specialized programs
The Adult Leukemia Program provides care for patients with leukemia and related bone marrow disorders, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and related bone marrow disorders, such as myelodysplasia and myelofibrosis.
Our Older Adult Leukemia Program provides dedicated support to patients ages 65 and older with leukemia. Download or print our program flyer to learn more.
The Adult Lymphoma Program provides care for the many varieties of lymphoid malignancies, including Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin lymphoma, B-cell neoplasms, and T-cell neoplasms.
The Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program provides care for patients with with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and offers access to clinical trials of promising new therapies.
The Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics provide care to patients with multiple myeloma, including promising new herapies through clinical trials.
The Bing Center for Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia provides care and new therapies through clinical trials to patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and related Immunoglobulin M (IgM) disorders.
The center's Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplantation Program was one of the first in the world and is now one of the largest and busiest in the United States. Since its inception in the 1970s, our hematopoietic stem cell transplant specialists have performed more than 6,500 transplants for the treatment of blood cancers and related blood disorders.
Other hematologic malignancies we treat include:
- Agnogenic myeloid metaplasia
- Aids-related malignancies
- Amyloidosis
- Aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)
- Autoimmune disorders
- Burkitt lymphoma
- Castleman's syndrome
- Chronic myeloid monocytic leukemia (CMML)
- CNS primary lymphoma
- Congenital disorders of blood production (sickle cell anemia, thalassemia), Blackfan-Diamond, Shwachman-Diamond, and Dyskeratosis Congenita syndromes
- Eosinphilia
- Essential thrombocytosis
- Hairy cell leukemia
- Histocytosis
- Jak 2 disease
- Langerhans cell histiocytosis
- Leukocytosis
- Leukopenia
- Lymphoproliferative disorder
- Mastocytosis
- Megablastic anemia
- Monoclonal paraprotein/M-GUS
- Mycosis fungoides/cutt-cell lymphoma
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Myelofibrosis
- Monoclonal gammmopathies
- Myeloid metaplasia
- Myeloproliferative disorders (polycythemia, myelofibrosis, thrombocythemia)
- Neutropenia pancytopenia
- NK cell lymphoma
- Philadelphia positive disease
- Polycythemia vera
- Testicular cancer
- Testicular choriocarcinoma
- Thrombocytopenia
- Thrombocytosis
- Waldenström's macroglobulinemia
Our Treatment Approach
To make sure your care is as seamless as possible, a dedicated team of clinicians, who are highly specialized experts in your type of blood cancer, will care for you throughout the treatment process, from diagnosis though long-term follow-up.
As a patient in the Center for Hematologic Oncology, you will be treated by a dedicated care team that includes oncologists, surgeons, hematologists, physician assistants, nurses and clinical social workers who are committed to delivering high-quality, safe, patient care.
We develop personalized, comprehensive treatment plans for all our patients, offering the latest therapies and supportive resources, and taking your particular needs into account.
We provide comprehensive services for treatment, including imaging, pathology, and radiation oncology. We also communicate with your referring physician throughout your treatment, including collaboration for follow-up care closer to your home where available.
In addition to conventional treatment approaches, you may have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials that offer access to new, innovative treatments for your type of cancer.
Our clinicians are actively involved in clinical research, working closely with laboratory investigators to examine a variety of treatment strategies, including:
- Chemotherapies and combinations of existing treatments;
- Radiation therapies;
- Novel targeted therapies, which block specific molecules involved in the growth and progression of cancer cells;
- Immune therapies, such as vaccine and cellular therapy; and
- Bone marrow/stem cell transplantation, including traditional and reduced-intensity transplant, using related, unrelated or umbilical cord blood cells for transplant.
We recognize that you and your family face many decisions and life changes. To assist you and help you make informed choices, we offer support services and education programs, resource centers and libraries, financial counseling, and low-cost, short-and long-term housing.
A variety of services and programs also support your care, including:
One distinguishing area of expertise is in our treatment of older adults (over 60 years old). Older adults with cancers of the blood often have different needs from younger adults, for example, a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, or kidney problems, which may limit treatment options.
To address the specific needs of older patients, we offer:
- clinical trials specifically for adults 60 years old and over
- stem cell transplant options for older patients with proven experience with transplanting patients well into their 70s
- cutting-edge approaches to care, coupled with access to specialized supportive services
- a dedicated program for older adult patients with leukemia
Treatment Team
Our providers work together across a range of specialty areas to coordinate fully integrated, personalized care from your initial diagnosis through long-term follow up.
Your treatment team includes physicians, physician assistants (PAs) nurse practitioners, clinical and research nurses. Laboratory investigators, clinical care coordinators, clinical social workers, and nutritionists will also be part of your care team.
Treatment Center Leadership
Robert J. Soiffer, MD
Chief, Hematologic Malignancies Division
Co-chief, Stem Cell Transplantation Program
Hematologic Malignancies Program Leadership
Martha Wadleigh, MD, Clinical Director, Adult Leukemia
Arnold Freedman, MD, Clinical Director, Lymphoma
Paul G. Richardson, MD, Clinical Director, Multiple Myeloma
Joseph Antin, MD, Chief, Stem Cell Transplantation
Hematologic Malignancies Clinical Care Leadership
Janet Bagley RN, MS, AOCNS, Director of Nursing and Clinical Services
Eric Jacobsen, MD, Clinical Floor Leader
Deborah Yolin Raley, PA-C, MS, Director of Physician Assistant Program
Treatment Center Administration Leadership
Amy Emmert, MScPH, Senior Director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapies, 617-632-3876
Katie Kupferberg, Manager of Disease Center Operations, 617-632-6139
Amy Kazmouski, Manager of Disease Center Operations, 617-582-8355
Farah Daftary, Director of Clinical Trial Operations, 617-632-2578
For more information about the Hematologic Malignancies treatment center care teams, please visit the program sections:
Clinical Research
More than 100 clinical trials are currently underway in the Center for Hematologic Oncology. The combined resources of our partner organizations within Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center make us the largest cancer research center in the nation.
Leukemia, myelodysplasia and myeloproliferative disorders research
The leukemia team works to develop more effective, less toxic treatments for acute leukemia and related disorders, including myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic myeloid leukemia and myeloproliferative disorders.
Our clinical research focuses on understanding how leukemia cells develop and creating new ways to block their growth. We are also taking the innovative step of treating adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients using treatments that have proved successful in pediatric patients.
Related story:
Lymphoma research
Our lymphoma research focuses on translating laboratory findings into less toxic treatments. We are committed to investigating and understanding the genetic pathways that enable lymphoma cells to survive and manipulating them with targeted therapies to improve outcomes.
Our research program features a variety of trials specifically for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, focusing on familial CLL, genomic studies and testing of novel therapies.
Multiple myeloma research
The Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics encompasses a large team of laboratory-based and clinical scientists investigating more effective therapies for multiple myelomas. Promising new therapies are rooted in a "bench-to-bedside" approach, where laboratory discoveries are rapidly translated into the clinical setting as part of treatment.
Waldenström's macroglobulinemia research
The main goal of clinical research at the Bing Center for Waldenström's macroglobulinemia is to take laboratory discoveries to the clinic, where they can benefit patients.
Trials include studies aimed at improving outcomes of patients undergoing biological therapies that attempt to destroy the tumor cells directly; evaluating supportive therapies; and examining the genetic basis of the disease.
Contact Us
New Patients: 617-632-5138
Leukemia: 617-632-6028 or 617-632-5138
Lymphoma: 617-632-6246 or 617-632-5138
Multiple Myeloma: 617-632-3823 or 617-632-5138
Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant: 617-632-3245 or 617-632-5138
Current Patients
Contact your doctor directly, or for general inquiries, call the Hematologic Malignancies program at 617-632-6140.
For Physicians and Physician Office Staff
Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., physician offices can call 855-281-2811 to access the Hematologic Malignancies department directly. During these hours, a Hematologic Malignancies administrative team member will take your call, address your inquiry, or route it accordingly. You may also contact us via email at DFCIHemOncNewPT@partners.org.
Fax
617-632-3730
Senior Director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapies
Amy Emmert
617-632-3876
Manager of Disease Center Operations
Katie Kupferberg
617-632-6139
Amy Kazmouski
617-582-8355
For more information about the stem cell/bone marrow donor search process, please call our Donor Services team at 866-875-DFCI (3324) or 617-632-2561.
Lymphoma second opinions at satellite centers
Dana-Farber/New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology