Hutchinson Center researchers played a pivotal role in developing bone marrow transplantation, a procedure that has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. Bone marrow transplantation and its sister treatment, stem cell transplantation, restore stem cells destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and radiation. Learn more about bone marrow transplantation here.
Led by Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, our researchers transformed bone marrow transplantation into standard treatment for leukemia and other blood cancers. This work earned Thomas the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, and the procedure now ranks among the greatest success stories in cancer treatment.
The Hutchinson Center, in partnership with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, has performed more bone marrow transplants than any other medical institution. These patients have traveled to the Center and the SCCA from all 50 United States and from countries around the world. While our researchers now investigate many other potential treatments, and have done pioneering work in immunotherapy and other areas, we continue to make transplantation breakthroughs. Our investigators have:
- Identified new bone marrow donors: Our research found that children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), can successfully receive bone marrow transplants from individuals who are not in the patient’s family.
- Boosted cure rates for infants with ALL: Dr. Jean Sanders achieved an unprecedented 76 percent disease-free survival rate after treating infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with total body irradiation, followed by a bone marrow transplant.
- Delivered new protection against graft-vs-host disease: Our research resulted in today’s leading treatment for graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD), which occurs when transplanted cells recognize the patient’s own cells as foreign and attack them.
- Pioneered alternative types of transplants: For patients who can’t find a bone marrow donor, umbilical cord blood can be an alternate source of stem cells. In 2010, Dr. Colleen Delaney and her colleagues announced the first-ever successful use of expanded cord blood to treat leukemia.
- Made promising advances for survivors: Many transplant recipients report a decline in mental skill and physical coordination. A study by Dr. Karen Syrjala found that these effects are largely temporary and subside within a year. Syrjala also found that survivors of stem cell transplantation will be just about as healthy 10 years later as adults who never had a transplant.
