704-355-2884 or 1-800-804-9376

In our efforts to effectively and compassionately treat cancer in the Charlotte region, the physicians and staff of Blumenthal Cancer Center have developed an innovative and exciting approach to stem cell disease. The Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT) program at Blumenthal Cancer Center brings together a team of dedicated healthcare professionals who make caring for patients our number one priority.

Peripheral stem cell transplant has become a highly effective treatment for certain cancers of the blood including leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins disease. It is often used as a treatment to improve survival for certain cancer types that have otherwise been incurable. Blumenthal Cancer Center's Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant Program was established through a close collaborative relationship with the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Stem Cell Biology Program at Washington University at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

Am I Qualified?
Stem cell transplant is offered to patients once standard cancer treatments have failed. After patients are referred to the Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant Program by their physicians, their medical records are evaluated by the transplant team to determine if they should undergo the procedure. The initial treatment may be done either on a hospital outpatient or inpatient basis. Patients will be admitted to the hospital for the stem cell re-infusion process. The length of stay in the hospital will be determined by the side effects and the length of time it takes for the patient's white blood count to return to normal. Patients are then discharged to their home and normally followed-up by a home health agency and their physician.

What is the Treatment Process?
Because our patients help their PBSCT team make decisions, it is essential that they clearly understand the treatment process. The process of autologous (transferred from same individual's body) peripheral blood stem cell transplant consists of several related steps:

1. Outpatient clinic consultation and eligibility testing
2. Placement of a vascular access device and mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells
3. Collection of peripheral blood stem cells
4. High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant
5. Post transplant outpatient care

To understand PBSCT, conventional methods of treating cancer must first be understood. High-dose chemotherapy kills cancer cells, but it also kills bone marrow. Without the bone marrow, the patient won't have stem cells. Stem cells grow into the platelets needed to form blood clots, the white blood cells needed to fight infections and the red blood cells needed to carry oxygen.

PBSCT has emerged as an option for restoring bone marrow by allowing the patient to grow his/her own new bone marrow. Only a very small number of stem cells are normally released from the bone marrow to circulate along with the mature elements of the blood, but our physicians can increase the number of circulating stem cells through a procedure known as "mobilization." These extra stem cells can be collected and stored indefinitely at a very low temperature. When the patient arrives for transplant, the stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient by transfusion. Once the stem cells are reinfused into the bloodstream, they return "home" to the bone marrow and begin to produce mature red cells, white cells and platelets.

Stem Cell Transplant Team
The PBSCT team at Blumenthal Cancer Center consists of healthcare professionals who have been specially trained in caring for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy and stem cells. The team treatment approach emphasizes continuity of quality care for all our patients. The same team of doctors, nurses and research clinicians will help patients and their family members through their initial evaluation, treatment and discharge from the hospital and follow-up visits.

Additionally, the American Red Cross (ARC) works closely with the PBSCT team at Blumenthal Cancer Center to ensure the highest quality collection and storage of the stem cells. Apheresis is a painless procedure by which blood is withdrawn from a patient's arm and circulated through a machine that removes certain components and returns the remaining components to the patient. This process is done on an outpatient basis in the Cancer Center by the ARC and then the stem cells are processed and stored at their facility. When a patient is ready for the reinfusion, the ARC brings the product to the patient's room on the day of the procedure.