Stem Cell Transplant – Medical Specialties – Treatments …

Arizona Oncology now includes two hematology/oncology physicians specializing in Stem Cell Transplant. Dr. Adrienne Briggs and Dr. Jeff Schriber each have more than 16 years of experience consulting with and treating stem cell transplant patients in Arizona. The Cancer Transplant Institute is located at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare which is a new program created to provide comprehensive, personalized care for patients with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Patients will be seen in consultation at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center and undergo Stem Cell Transplant at Scottsdale Healthcare (Shea Campus). These transplants are performed in both an outpatient and an inpatient setting. Whether a patient is treated primarily as an inpatient or an outpatient depends on the type of transplant, the type of cancer, and on the individual patient and family needs. The Cancer Transplant Institutes provides complete care throughout the entire spectrum of a patients transplant process, from initial consultation services through to follow-up care after a bone marrow (often called hematopoietic stem cell transplant).

What is Bone Stem Cell Transplantation (SCT)

Stem Cell transplantation is a highly advanced and specialized procedure that first uses chemotherapy, with or without radiation, at very high doses to eliminate cancer cells within the body. As a result of this intensive treatment, the patients bone marrow is rendered incapable of producing health blood cells from the stem cells that reside in the bone marrow. Stem cells are immature cells that give rise to white blood cells (which fight infections), red blood cells (which carry oxygen), and platelets (which prevent bleeding).

There are two types of bone marrow transplants. Autologous (where your own cells are used) and allogeneic (where a donor is required). In fact for the majority of the autologous transplants we dont even use bone marrow but instead collect cells from your blood stream.

In an autologous transplant very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation are used to kill the tumor cells in your body. The levels of therapy required to kill these tumor cells are often five to ten fold the regular chemotherapy doses and they also as an unintended side effect kill the cells that live in the bone marrow. The cells in the marrow contain the all important blood stem cells that have the ability to form all of the blood types. These include the red blood cells that carry oxygen, the white blood cells that treat infection and the platelets that prevent bleeding. In addition these stem cells are able to form themselves so that theoretically a single cell could reproduce the entire bone marrow after it is damaged. This may also be referred to as a stem cell rescue or stem cell support. In this situation the important treatment for the cancer is the high doses of chemotherapy. The stem cells that are given back after the therapy is completed allow the rescue of the marrow which enables us to give the required high doses of chemo or radiotherapy.

It is important to know that these stem cells are not the ones that you often hear about on the news. These are largely limited to producing only the blood type cells listed above. Although they reside in the bone marrow, we rarely collect them from the marrow itself. Instead we use the fact that after chemotherapy and certain medicines that the stem cells move into the blood stream. We can then collect the cells from the blood stream to be used later after the high doses of chemotherapy are given.

The second major type called an allogeneic transplant also typically involves very high doses of chemo or radiation therapy to kill the underlying cancer cells. In this situation cells are collected from a donor and given back to the patient. These cells can also be collected from the blood stream or bone marrow and in some cases from the umbilical cord blood. When these donor cells grow to form the new blood stem cells they retain some of the characteristics of the original donor. This is a true transplant of the blood and immune system from your donor.

Since these two forms are very different they also carry different risks and complications. The choice of which form of transplant you may require is often based on the type of cancer that you have, how you have responded and your general health. During your initial visit your doctor will discuss with you which transplant is more appropriate as well as the risks and benefits to each approach.

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Stem Cell Transplant - Medical Specialties - Treatments ...