Transplanting blood and bone marrow stem cells is a well-established cellular therapy for numerous cancers and blood diseases. SCT involves harvesting stem cells from the bone marrow or blood of a patient or donor, and then transfusing them into the patient after their unhealthy bone marrow has been destroyed or eliminated by chemotherapy or radiation. UChicago Medicine had the best one-year SCT outcomes in Illinois and the highest relative to predicted outcomes, according to recent annual reports from the Center for International Bone and Marrow Transplant Research.

CAR T-cell is an emerging form of cellular therapy that involves modifying a patient’s T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. Researchers at UChicago Medicine played a key role in developing this groundbreaking treatment, and we were the first medical center in the United States to be certified in this therapy for specific blood cancers in adults and children. UChicago Medicine is a regional leader for the number of CAR T-cell therapy clinical trials we conduct, with many of our researchers actively studying ways to enhance its effectiveness and expand its use.