Patient Care

A team of highly skilled compassionate physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers and adjunct staff assist in the coordinated care of children with cancer and their families.

Cancer therapy works best when it can be tailored to each patient’s disease. Our division is engaged in laboratory studies to understand the genetic mutations that trigger malignancies such as leukemia, brain tumors and neuroblastoma, with the goal of devising therapies that target these mutations. Our faculty members collaborate with colleagues from around the country to translate information gleaned in the laboratory into personalized treatments that can help young patients. We offer access to clinical studies ranging from early trials of promising therapies to advanced trials conducted in large populations. Many of our physicians serve as leaders in national oncology research consortiums, including the Children’s Oncology Group and groups that guide clinical studies of neuroblastoma and pediatric brain tumors.

Our hematologists participate in a variety of national collaborative studies that seek to improve treatments for thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, and bleeding and clotting disorders. As part of the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network and a National Institutes of Health-funded Sickle Cell Center, we pursue new avenues of investigation and offer comprehensive care for young patients with these diseases. The North Coast Regional Hemophilia program cares for children with bleeding disorders and participates in research to develop improved treatments for hemophilia and its complications.

Exemplary Care for Patients

Our hematology/oncology team understands that treatment is an intensely personal experience for each child and family. We draw not only on the expertise of multidisciplinary physicians, but also on supportive care from nurse specialists, psychologists, social workers and child life specialists. We work closely with the UCSF Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant team, which provides a range of transplant options for selected children with cancer and blood diseases.