Hematology, Blood & Marrow Transplant, and Cellular Therapies (HBC)

The UCSF Hematology, Blood and Marrow Transplant, and Cellular Therapy (HBC) Program is dedicated to providing patients with the most advanced and innovative treatment options, along with compassionate and personalized care. People from throughout the United States and abroad choose our program for its groundbreaking work and for our providers, who specialize in blood disorders and the use of transplantation and cellular therapy.

UCSF is also home to a robust research program. Patients may have the option to participate in novel clinical trials, including studies evaluating the use of targeted therapeutics, new transplantation techniques and immunotherapy treatments, such as tumor vaccines and CAR T-cell therapy.

CAR T-Cell Therapy

CAR T-cell therapy – which uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer cells – has dramatically changed how blood cancers are treated. Our clinical and research teams are internationally renowned for their pioneering work in cell-based immunotherapy for cancer, and we have been at the forefront of designing new CAR T-cell strategies for treating blood cancers. UCSF was one of the first institutions licensed to offer standard-of-care CAR T cells for young patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).

We now offer FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy to patients with ALL, patients with various forms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Even after resisting all other treatment options or relapsing after standard treatment, those conditions have responded dramatically to CAR T-cell therapy.

In patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), CAR T-cell therapy has resulted in long-term remissions and even cures for some. Research is ongoing to increase the number of patients cured and expand the use of CAR T cells to other blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s disease, as well as solid tumors of the breast, prostate, brain, lungs and other organs.

A Comprehensive Cancer Center

As part of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, we offer our patients access to many services, including support groups, exercise and mindfulness classes, psychosocial support, symptom management and much more. 

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

Our program is a member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, a consortium made up of 10 of the world’s leading cancer centers. Its mission is to turn cancer into a curable disease by accelerating the development of breakthrough immune therapies.