Building on our 2023-24 “Best Hospitals” recognition by U.S. News & World Report as “high performing” in the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, the Blood Cancer Center at City of Hope^® Cancer Center Atlanta also houses Georgia’s only bone marrow transplantation (BMT) program south of downtown Atlanta. That’s more options and more hope for patients with blood cancer, who also gain access to renowned hematologic oncologists and City of Hope’s coast-to-coast clinical network, one of the largest and most successful BMT programs in the country.

According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer — either leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma — every three minutes. Blood cancers, a complex disease group, develop in the body’s blood cells and consist of dozens of types and subtypes. Whether acute or chronic, slow-growing or aggressive, blood cancers require the kind of personalized, expert care patients expect at City of Hope Atlanta.

Our nationally recognized hospital offers comprehensive blood cancer care, from leading-edge diagnostics and treatments to novel clinical trials and supportive care. Whether you are receiving outpatient or inpatient care, you benefit from integrated expertise that unites board-certified hematologic and radiation oncologists with Magnet®-certified nurses, pathologists, pharmacists and integrative care providers focused on your quality of life — all under one roof, all sharing your sense of urgency.

City of Hope brings a legacy of pioneering innovation and expertise in the treatment of blood cancers to patients in Georgia. Armed with evidence-based treatments, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplantation, we have a clear goal: help patients with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma get back to life. 

Chemotherapy

As a first-line treatment option for some blood cancer types, chemotherapy helps prevent recurrence or, as high-dose treatment, it can be used to suppress the immune system and kill diseased cells so they can be replaced with healthy cells in a stem cell transplant. Patients may receive a combination of chemotherapy drugs or chemotherapy used in conjunction with other treatments, including radiation therapy and/or immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy

In simple terms, immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune cells to fight cancer. At the City of Hope Atlanta Blood Cancer Center, our physicians assess each patient to determine whether these evolving therapies and drugs offer promise in treating their specific diagnosis: 

• Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, which involves taking a type of white blood cell from the body, genetically changing the cells to target the cancer, then returning the cells to the body
• Checkpoint inhibitors, which are drugs that block the immune system from turning off so it can attack cancer cells 
• Bispecific antibody therapy, which involves novel immunotherapy agents that bind to two different types of cells, a cancer cell and an immune cell, allowing the latter to attack the cancer cell directly

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy may be used to kill blood cancer cells. As a pain management tool, it may help ease discomfort caused by swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged spleen or liver or treat pain from bone damage caused by cancer cells growing in the bone marrow.

Stem Cell Transplantation

Our hematologic experts are trained and experienced in stem cell transplantation, a procedure that involves harvesting healthy stem cells from blood or bone marrow, then infusing them into the bloodstream to promote new, healthy cell growth. City of Hope Atlanta currently performs only autologous stem cell transplants using hematopoietic stem cells collected from the patient.

Surgery is uncommon in the treatment of blood cancers, because they rarely form solid tumors.

Our Blood Cancer Center brings high-tech, high-touch care together — surrounding patients with specialization — whether your diagnosis is early-stage, rare or complex. At the core of your care are experts who are highly trained in blood-related diseases, empowered and supported by a national network of City of Hope experts leading one of the nation’s largest and most successful bone marrow transplant programs.

With more than 20 years of experience in the field of hematologic oncology, Leslie Popplewell, M.D., leads our growing Blood Cancer Center at City of Hope Atlanta. Dr. Popplewell’s distinguished career includes specialized training through a bone marrow transplantation fellowship at City of Hope in Duarte, California, and fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Click the links below to learn more about our Blood Cancer Center experts.