Johns Hopkins is home to one of the largest leukemia programs worldwide. Groundbreaking treatments in all types of leukemias and blood disorders are just the beginning of unparalleled care and commitment to our patients and families in the Johns Hopkins Leukemia Program.

Leukemia Experts

Leukemia experts at Johns Hopkins are world-renowned for their experience in the treatment and management of leukemia and blood disorders.

About Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of leukemia that leads to overproduction of certain white blood cells. It typically progresses more slowly than acute leukemias, but in certain people, the disease can become aggressive.

Current Treatments

Open Leukemia Clinical Trials

Our doctors pioneered the technique of bone marrow transplantation and remain leaders in improving the effectiveness and safety of the procedure. They developed and studied a now widely used drug called 4H-C, which purges the bone marrow of cancer cells in autologous transplantations (when bone marrow is removed from a patient and reinfused after high-dose drug treatment).

Cancer center physicians also have been successful in extending the option of allogeneic transplants (transplants using donor marrow) for patients up to the age of 65.

For patients who are not candidates for allogeneic transplants, another similar treatment option offered at the Kimmel Cancer Center is stem cell transplantation, which can be performed on patients up to age 70. Stem cell transplantation involves collecting stem cells (the bone marrow cells from which blood cells arise) from the blood rather than from the bone marrow.

The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins is one of the few centers in the country that has developed an intensive inpatient/outpatient (IPOP) unit to provide extended care for transplant patients. Thus, the experienced teams of transplant physicians and nurses have reduced the length of hospitalization for many patients.