Chicago Cellular Therapy Program
At City of Hope® Cancer Center Chicago, patients from Illinois, Wisconsin and surrounding Midwest areas can receive advanced cellular therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.
These therapies use special cells — often your own — to fight disease or heal damaged tissue. It’s a way of turning your body’s own living cells into powerful medicine.
CAR T Cell Therapy in Chicago
CAR T cell therapy, short for chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, is an innovative treatment that uses your own immune system cells, called T cells. First, your T cells are collected and then specially reprogrammed in a lab to recognize and attack cancer cells. The modified cells are then returned to your body to help fight the disease.
Our Chicago Cellular Therapy Program is home to experts with extensive experience using CAR T cell therapy to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. All appointments — from collecting your cells to re-infusing them — are done onsite. We also offer clinical trials that test new CAR T therapy options.
Chicago TIL Therapy
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is an emerging treatment where white blood cells, called TILs, are surgically removed from a tumor, multiplied and activated in a lab, then infused back into the patient to attack the cancer. Before the replicated TILs are infused into your body, you will undergo a round of lymphocyte-depleting chemotherapy.
Currently, TIL therapy is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain cases of advanced melanoma and shows promise as an earlier treatment option for the disease.
Because TIL therapy is highly specialized, your dedicated care team at City of Hope Chicago often involves medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, cellular therapy specialists/hematologic oncologists and transplant and immunotherapy experts — all working together under one roof. Specially trained nurses and care coordinators also support you every step of the way.
What Sets Our Lake County Cell Therapy Program Apart?
When it comes to cellular therapy, you can experience the City of Hope difference — specialization, speed, innovation — right here in Illinois at our comprehensive cancer center in Lake County. Benefits include:
- Convenient location midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, with affordable onsite lodging so your loved ones can stay close and support you during treatment
- Safe, high-quality care, demonstrated by:
- FACT accreditation, the gold standard for excellence in cellular therapy
- “High performing” rating in the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma by U.S. News & World Report (2025–26)
- Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence, earned by fewer than 9% of hospitals nationwide
- 5-star overall and patient experience ratings (highest) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- CAP accreditation, awarded to labs that meet strict standards for tissue collection, preparation and testing
- AABB accreditation, granted to facilities that meet the highest standards in blood banking and transfusion services
- Access to clinical trials for CAR T, including a novel trial for multiple myeloma
- Supportive care, such as nutritional support and behavioral therapy, to address physical and emotional side effects
- Survivorship support, focused on personalized follow-up for blood cancer survivors
Our Chicago Cellular Therapy Experts
Cellular therapies, such as CAR T and TIL, require several steps, from tumor removal and cell preparation to treatment planning and infusion. Each stage is handled by a different specialist with precision and personalization. Meet our team of experts by clicking on the bios below.
Dr. Rodriguez has over 20 years of experience treating blood cancer and is an expert in bone marrow transplantation. He has performed over 2,500 transplant procedures.
Dr. Dunavin works closely with patients diagnosed with hematologic malignancies, primarily leukemias, as well as blood disorders.
Dr. Bitran brings more than 50 years of experience diagnosing and treating a wide range of blood cancers, with a strong focus on lymphomas.
Dr. Li treats a wide range of conditions, specializing in complex gastrointestinal cancers, soft tissue disease and hepato-pancreato-biliary conditions and using advanced and minimally invasive techniques.
Dr. Halabi is highly skilled in minimally invasive, advanced techniques and technologies for gynecologic and gastrointestinal cancers, including cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.
As president of the medical staff at City of Hope Chicago, Dr. Khan provides leadership to our Illinois medical staff, guides protocols, ensures standard-of-care guidelines are consistently met and exceeded, and helps recruit high-quality physicians.
Dr. Pisick treats a wide range of cancer types, including lung and prostate cancers. He has conducted extensive research on lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.
Contact Our Illinois Cell Therapy Team
City of Hope Chicago is centrally located between Chicago and Milwaukee in Lake County, Illinois.