Quality and Outcomes for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders
The SLUCare Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology offers a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and blood disorders. The team is recognized for its coordinated efforts and world-class expertise in pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, tumor orthopedic surgery, radiology, radiation oncology and clinical pathology for the successful treatment of pediatric cancers.
Learn more about The Costas Center.
The Costas Center at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital has a 16-bed inpatient unit and a day hospital, as well as a dedicated stem cell transplant unit for young patients diagnosed with cancer. Our SLUCare physicians are members of the Children’s Oncology Group, a network of children’s hospitals sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.
While we treat the full range of pediatric cancers, our team has developed specialty care plans and research around:
- Blood cancers
- Bone and soft tissue sarcomas
- Brain and spinal cord tumors (neuro-oncology)
- Hemophilia (and other clotting disorders)
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Sickle cell anemia
Our blood and marrow transplant program is nationally recognized.
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon is a nationally recognized blood and marrow transplant program, with overall survival outcomes consistently exceeding national averages. Since 2013, our one-year survival rate for blood and marrow transplant patients increased from 87.5% to 93% in 2016.
The program is:
- Accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT)
- A designated transplant center for the Children’s Oncology Group
- A participant in the Pediatric Transplantation and Celluar Therapy Consortium
We are leaders in the use of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants for cancer as well as blood or immune disorders. We work closely with the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank (SLCBB), one of only seven FDA-licensed repositories of cord blood stem cells. The bank continues to expand its basic science research program in the area of stem cell biology. The number of cord blood units donated for transplant has stabilized at approximately 40% of area births, and the SLCBB continues to be one of the largest such programs in the country.
We have a long-term follow-up clinic.
Our goal of the Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic is to help our cancer survivor patients stay as healthy as possible. We are able to provide the multi-disciplinary specialized care needed to monitor for late effects of childhood cancer treatment.
We are committed to pediatric cancer research.
Our division is committed to advancing the care of children through collaboration with science research as well as numerous clinical research programs.
We actively participate in:
- The Children’s Oncology Group
- The Pediatric Transplatation and Celluar Therapy Consortium, formally known as the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium
- The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research
We are also one of the founding institutions of the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium, formally known as the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium, which is actively investigating innovative approaches to the treatment of childhood cancer.
Additionally, our pediatric oncology and hematology physicians participate in several national and pharmaceutical company-sponsored studies in hemostasis and sickle cell disease.