Blood Cancers

Blood Cancer Treatment Options

Choosing the most effective therapy

An accurate diagnosis is the first and most important step in getting the most effective treatment. At the Weill Cornell Medicine Meyer Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, we perform additional testing to find out not only what kind of cancer you have, but what subtype it may be. There are many types of blood cancer, each with its own biology and behavior. For example, there are more than 70 subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma alone. Your doctor arranges for all the testing needed to learn all we can about the type and stage of your cancer.

Advanced chemotherapy and immunotherapy

Blood cancers are often treated with combinations of chemotherapy drugs. You may also be eligible to receive immunotherapy, a treatment that boosts the power of your immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells in your body. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy are typically given by infusion (through a vein) in our outpatient infusion center. Your infusion team includes oncology nurses with specialized training. They closely monitor you during your treatment to watch for any side effects and to ensure your visit with us is as comfortable as possible.

A precision medicine approach

Increasingly in cancer care, we use therapies that target proteins and genetic mutations that are specific to cancer cells. We perform genetic sequencing to test the biology of your cancer and match you with the anticancer drugs that take aim at the molecules fueling its growth. This "precision medicine" approach is revolutionizing the care of people with all types of cancer. For blood cancers, many new targeted therapies have been developed in the last several years to treat these cancers more precisely than conventional anticancer drugs. Your doctor will let you know if a targeted therapy is right for you.

Bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation has evolved into the standard of care for many patients with blood cancers and other blood disorders. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center offers bone marrow and stem cell transplantation for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, myelofibrosis, and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). If your doctor recommends a transplant, we can connect you with the bone marrow transplant team at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. You can have your transplant in Manhattan and your pre- and post-transplant care at our hospital in Brooklyn.

CAR T-cell therapies

Patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or mantle cell lymphoma that came back or continued to grow after prior treatment may be eligible to receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. CAR T-cells are made from a patient's own white blood cells (T cells) which have been collected from the patient, modified in a lab to recognize certain proteins on cancer cells, and returned to the patient to detect, attach to, and destroy cancer cells throughout the body. You may be able to receive CAR T-cell therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and have the care you need before and after this treatment at our Meyer Cancer Center.