The Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center treats children and teens with all forms of leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. If your child has relapsed leukemia or leukemia that isn't responding to treatment, we offer secondary treatment options including stem cell transplantation.
About the Center or Program
Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, is the most common type of cancer in children. The Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's treats children with all forms of leukemia. If your child has relapsed leukemia or leukemia that isn't responding to treatment, we offer secondary treatment options including stem cell transplantation.
- All members of our team — pediatric oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, stem cell transplant physicians and pediatric oncology nurses — have specific expertise in pediatric leukemias. Many are recognized as national leaders in their field.
- Experts from pediatric medical subspecialties such as infectious disease, cardiology, and endocrinology, among others, join your child's care team as needed.
- Our pediatric hematopathologists are nationally recognized for their expertise in diagnosing pediatric leukemias and lymphomas.
- We offer innovative clinical trials for children of all ages and with all forms of pediatric leukemia.
- Our clinical team works closely with researchers to develop new treatments based on the latest scientific discoveries.
- Our School Liaison and Back to School programs will help your child succeed in school, during and after treatment.
- We offer a childhood cancer survivorship clinic to help our patients manage late effects related to their cancer and treatment.
Clinicians in the Leukemia Program have expertise in treating all forms of leukemia, including:
Our Treatment Approach
The Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's offers comprehensive diagnosis, treatment, consultation services, and long-term follow-up care for children and adolescents with hematologic malignancies. Members of our physician team have specific expertise in pediatric leukemias and are recognized as national leaders in the field.
Our areas of specialization include:
- oncology
- stem cell transplantation
- hematopathology
- surgery
- radiology, including interventional radiology
- radiation oncology
Treatment protocols used at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute offer the best published cure rates for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These protocols were designed by our own physicians and are used by multiple institutions in the United States and Canada.
Diagnosis and treatment
We offer comprehensive consultation services to children and families at the time of diagnosis, during therapy, at relapse, and in follow-up. Our services include:
- expert hematopathologic evaluation
- advanced diagnostic techniques including flow cytometry, molecular testing to screen for specific chromosomal abnormalities, and specialized methods to detect minimal residual disease (levels of disease that cannot be seen under a microscope)
- best available treatment for newly diagnosed patients
- innovative treatment options for recurrent leukemia, including:
- clinical trials testing new and promising agents identified by our laboratories
- clinical trials available only at a limited number of institutions in the United States
- access to the most current research studies via Children's Oncology Group
- an individualized treatment plan tailored to your child's needs
- an internationally recognized pediatric stem cell transplant program
- a pediatric advanced cancer team with expertise in palliative care and symptom management
Additional support services we give our patients include:
- psychologists and social workers available for all patients, siblings and parents
- resource specialists to help families apply for assistance from cancer-related organizations and relevant federal and local programs
- complementary therapies consultation and treatment integrated into the comprehensive care plan
- infectious disease physicians who specialize in the care of cancer patients
- specialists in managing cancer pain
- the services of other specialists as needed, including experts in cardiology, pulmonary, endocrinology, reproductive and gynecologic services, neurology, anesthesia, dermatology, nutrition, and physical therapy
Long-term follow-up
Our Leukemia Program is committed to recognizing and reducing late effects of treatment in long-term survivors. Our treatment includes innovative approaches designed to reduce these late effects:
- Patients treated on our ALL protocols are followed closely after the end of therapy, and assessed for any neuropsychologic effects (such as learning disabilities), cardiac dysfunction, growth disturbances, and ophthalmologic abnormalities (such as cataracts) by physicians and other clinicians with specific expertise in these areas.
- Long-term survivors of ALL who have received cranial radiation can receive assistance from the School Liaison Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute if they are having problems at school.
- The Perini Quality of Life Clinic offers clinical and support resources to address the medical and psychosocial challenges of being a survivor of childhood cancer.
The Treatment Team
Our staff of compassionate and experienced pediatric subspecialists includes oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists and pathologists. Our physicians are focused on family-centered care: From your first visit, you'll work with a team of professionals who are committed to supporting all of your family's physical and psychosocial needs.
- Lewis B. Silverman, MD, Medical Director, Pediatric Hematological Malignancy Program
Silverman is a pediatric oncologist who specializes in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He is the principal investigator for all clinical trials for children and adolescents with newly diagnosed ALL, and oversees all clinical research for pediatric patients with relapsed ALL. He is also the medical director of the Inpatient Oncology Service at Boston Children's Hospital and chairs the Pediatric Scientific Review Committee for DF/CHCC. His primary research focus is improving ALL therapies while reducing toxicity. He is also an associate professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD
Armstrong is co-director of the Hematologic Malignancy Program (Leukemia and Lymphoma Program). He works with other investigators to identify and develop new treatments for children and adolescents with leukemia. He is an associate professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Amy L. Billett, MD
Billett is a pediatric oncologist who specializes in the treatment of lymphomas including Hodgkin disease, Non-Hodgkin disease and Burkitt's lymphoma. She oversees clinical safety and quality research for the Hematology/Oncology department. She is also an associate professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Barbara A. Degar, MD
Degar is a pediatric hematologist oncologist. Her research and clinical expertise focus on the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia and Langerhan cell histiocytosis. She is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Mark Daniel Fleming, MD, DPhil
Fleming is Boston Children's Hospital's Pathologist-In-Chief. He is a hematopathologist who specializes in the diagnosis of cancers of the blood and lymph systems. His research focuses on iron metabolism in the blood. He is an associate professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School.
- Leslie E. Lehmann, MD
Lehmann is the clinical director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's. She specializes in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and the long-term effects of stem cell transplantation. She is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Karen J. Marcus, MD
Marcus specializes in pediatric radiation oncology. She treats children with a wide variety of cancers, including brain tumors, sarcomas, neuroblastoma, leukemias, kidney tumors, and Hodgkin lymphoma. She is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and co-chair of Pediatric Oncology Institutional Review Board.
- Stephen E. Sallan, MD
Sallan specializes in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He currently serves as Dana-Farber's Chief of Staff and is the chair of the Institutional Review Board, which oversees clinical research. He is a professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Jo-Anne Vergilio, MD
Vergilio is director of Hematopathology at Boston Children's Hospital and oversees the Flow Cytometry clinical laboratory for oncology patients. She is an assistant professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School.
- Stephan D. Voss, MD, PhD
Voss is a staff radiologist and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital. His research focuses on developing new methods for imaging malignant disease.
- Lynda Vrooman, MD
Vrooman is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist who specializes in the care of leukemia patients. Her research interest is in the late effects of treatment. In addition to taking care of newly diagnosed patients, she is also an attending physician in the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic for survivors of childhood cancers.
- Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH
Wolfe, the director of the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT), is recognized for her pediatric palliative care expertise. She and other members of the PACT participate in regional and national efforts to improve care for children with advanced illness.
Clinical Research
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium, headed by physicians at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, is an international leader in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment and research. Our achievements include:
- improving cure rates
- reducing chemotherapy-associated side effects during treatment
- identifying and reducing the risk of late effects from treatment, including learning disabilities, heart dysfunction and bone problems, in survivors of childhood ALL
- developing new laboratory tests to identify patients who may require stronger or different treatments to prevent relapse
- characterizing chromosomal and molecular abnormalities in order to identify subsets of ALL that may be better treated with new or different therapies
- assessing and trying to improve patients' quality of life during and after therapy
Investigational therapies for refractory or relapsed disease, including:
- trials of new and promising agents identified by our laboratory investigators
- trials of novel combinations of chemotherapy drugs
- experimental drugs available via the Children's Oncology Group
Clinical trials
Clinical trials are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new interventions. There are different types of cancer clinical trials, such as prevention trials, early detection trials, and treatment trials. The Leukemia Program leads many clinical trials and participates in several multi-center national clinical trials.
Contact Us
Referring physicians: 617-632-5508 or 1-888-Pedi-Onc (733-4662)
New patients and second opinions
We know that a leukemia diagnosis is extremely difficult to cope with. We are available to offer a consultation or second opinion for your child.
If your child has a diagnosis of leukemia, please contact our program at 888-PEDI-ONC (1-888-733-4662) or 617-632-5508.
To help us conduct a precise evaluation, it is important we receive a full summary of your child's initial diagnosis. This includes any laboratory or pathology reports, any x-rays, radiographic or MRI images, as well as a list of any previous treatments your child may have received.
Please have as much of the following information as possible when you call or bring it with you to your appointment:
Patient summary
- your child's date of birth
- your address
- parent or guardian contact information
- insurance information
Complete clinical summary
- Physician's name and contact information
- Diagnosis, or working diagnosis, and list of presenting symptoms
- MRI/CAT scan films
- Pathology slides and reports
- Operative note, if surgery was performed
- Radiation therapeutic summary, if your child had radiation
- Comprehensive list of previous chemotherapeutic agents, with dates and doses, if your child had chemotherapy
Mailing addresses
Boston Children's Hospital
Inpatient Care
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Outpatient Care
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215