Medical Services

 

Since its inception in 1987, HackensackUMC has been a leading participant in the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) and its successor, the Children's Oncology Group (COG).  COG is the major collaborative group in North America for the treatment of childhood cancer.

 

Participation in COG enables our patients to receive cutting-edge treatment protocols. 

 

Treatment protocols are available for all types of pediatric cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, and solid tumors such as neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, bone tumors, soft tissue sarcomas and others. 

 

 

Institute for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorder physicians have taken a leadership role in the COG and participate in numerous committees, including bone tumors, Hodgkin's lymphoma, late effects of cancer, psychology issues, cancer control and cancer in young adults.  For further information on COG, please visit www.childrensoncologygroup.org. 

 

The Pediatric Hematology Program is one of the most comprehensive programs in New Jersey to evaluate, diagnose, and treat a wide variety of hematologic disorders. 

 

The multidisciplinary team consists of physicians, advanced practice nurses, psychologists, social workers, and creative arts therapists.

 

Consultations are available for the following conditions: 

Hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia 

Bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia

and von Willebrand's disease 

Qualitative and quantitative disorders of platelets including immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) 

Abnormal pre-surgical coagulation

screening tests 

Anemia 

White blood cell abnormalities 

Thrombotic disorders (thrombophilia) 

 

The Center's services address the medical and psycho-emotional needs of children with sickle cell syndromes and their families.  

Services Include: 

Comprehensive inpatient care 

Outpatient transfusions as necessary 

Outpatient evaluation and treatment of painful crisis and fevers 

Transcranial doppler (TCD) screening to predict the risk of stroke 

Dedicated support groups for patients, siblings, and parents 

Full evaluation of infants with abnormal hemoglobin detected by newborn screening 

Stem cell transplantation for sickle cell anemia and thalassemia in selected patients 

 

This program offers comprehensive medical and supportive care to pediatric patients with inherited, congenital or acquired bone marrow failure disorders, such as aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, Fanconi anemia, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, and Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. 

 

The program’s multidisciplinary team is comprised of doctors, nurses, social workers, child life specialists, and a genetic counselor.  Physicians participate actively in the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund and hold annual meetings with patients and their families to discuss new scientific data and treatment options.

State-of-the-art therapeutic modalities are available, including cytokine therapy, matched-related and unrelated cord blood or bone marrow transplantation, and supportive care. 

 

The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program at Hackensack University Medical Center is a joint effort of the Institute for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders and the Pediatric Neuroscience Institute. The Program has been developed to address the unique needs of children with cancer affecting the nervous system. Patients cared for by our team include those with tumors of the brain, spine, and peripheral nerves, as well as children whose cancer, or its treatment, may have resulted in neurologic problems.

 

The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program provides care from the moment of diagnosis, throughout treatment, and into survivorship. Working together with other departments, such as Diagnostic Imaging and Pathology, we determine the exact diagnosis for each patient. This information is then used to guide treatment specific to the type of tumor, while taking into consideration the patient's age and potential complications of therapy. All members of the team are involved when treatment decisions are discussed, and options are then presented to the family. In this way, we can provide our patients with the information and guidance required when faced with a potentially life-threatening illness.

 

Treatment for most patients involves neurosurgery, often combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Due to the risk of injury to developing nervous system when radiation is administered at a young age (often defined as age less than or equal to 3 years), we often use chemotherapy as a means of delaying or perhaps eliminating radiation. Our skilled pediatric oncology nurses deliver chemotherapy in the outpatient clinic, in a dedicated Infusion Room. If required, children are admitted to a dedicated Inpatient Oncology Unit. When necessary, radiation is administered by the highly trained physicians and staff in our Department of Radiation Oncology.

 

The Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Hackensack University Medical Center, established in 1990, is a national leader in the field of allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation.  It is one of the largest programs in the New York metropolitan region and the only pediatric transplant program in New Jersey. 

 

In 1997, HUMC’s Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program received certification by the Foundation for Accreditation of Hematopoietic Cell Therapy (FAHCT), and was recertified in 2001. 

 

Dr. Alfred Gillio, has been exclusively involved in the clinical and laboratory aspects of pediatric stem cell transplantation for nearly 20 years and is a recognized authority in the field.

 

The program enjoys full membership in the Children’s Oncology Group. Patients from any COG-affiliated institutions may be referred here for a stem cell transplant according to cooperative group protocols.  In addition, the program participates in selected national trials coordinated by the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium.

 

In addition, the program participates in selected national trials coordinated by the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium.

 

The program is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium , National Marrow Donor Program, American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and the International Society for Cellular Therapy

 

Autologous

Marrow-derived stem cells


Peripheral blood stem cells

 

Allogeneic

HLA-identical or single antigen-mismatched related donors
Histocompatible unrelated donors
          Volunteer marrow donors (NMDP)
          Umbilical cord blood

 

A. Allogeneic

 

1.Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible (fully matched or single antigen-mismatched) related donors for patients with hematologic malignancies

 

Eligibility:


acute lymphoblastic leukemia in second or subsequent remission


acute lymphoblastic leukemia (high-risk) in first remission


acute myelogenous leukemia in first or subsequent remission


chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase


juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JCML)
myelodysplastic syndrome

 

2.Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible donors for patients with congenital hematologic and/or immune disorders

 

Eligibility:


thalassemia major


Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome


Fanconi anemia


Severe combined immunodeficiency


Severe T-cell immunodeficiency


Inborn errors of metabolism

 

3.Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible related donors for patients with severe aplastic anemia

 

4.Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible related donors for selected patients with sickle cell anemia

 

Eligibility: 


Hgb SS-related dysfunction


Neurological

Pulmonary

Renal

Repeated painful crises

 

5. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible related donors for patients with thalassemia (Cooley’s anemia)

 

6. Marrow transplantation from histocompatible unrelated volunteer donors for patients with hematologic malignancies, severe aplastic anemia or congenital lethal disorders of the lymphohematopoietic system

 

7. Unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation for patients with hematologic malignancies, severe aplastic anemia or congenital lethal disorders of the lymphohematopoietic system

 

8. Stem cell transplantation (related or unrelated donor) for patients with Fanconi anemia.

 

Autologous

The majority of pediatric patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support receive stem cells collected from the blood stream through an outpatient procedure, called leukapheresis. When reinfused into the patient, stem cells collected in this manner generally lead to much more rapid normalization of the blood counts than when marrow-derived stem cells are utilized. Consequently, the period of hospitalization for peripheral blood stem cell recipients is significantly shorter and, in some cases, an "outpatient transplant" may be offered. This involves hospitalization for only the days on which the preparative chemotherapy is administered, then discharge to an off-site facility and daily monitoring in the outpatient department until the blood counts have returned towards normal (approximately 10-14 days.).

 

1. Autologous peripheral blood (or marrow) stem cell transplantation for pediatric patients with high-risk malignant solid tumors

 

Eligibility:


Advanced stage neuroblastoma


rhabdomyosarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas


Ewing sarcoma


germ cell tumor

 

2. Autologous peripheral blood (or marrow) stem cell transplantation for pediatric patients with recurrent Wilms’ tumor

 

3. Autologous peripheral blood (or marrow) stem cell transplantation for selected pediatric patients with malignant brain tumors

 

4. Autologous peripheral blood (or marrow) stem cell transplantation for patients with recurrent Hodgkin’s disease or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.