NewYork-Presbyterian. The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

Cancer (Oncology)

Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma

Back to the nypcancer.org Home Page

The Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is one of the largest treatment facilities for these diseases in the country, and has been cited as a National Center of Excellence by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America. Calling on multidisciplinary collaboration with medical oncology, pathology, radiology, and nuclear medicine, the Center offers novel therapies, including biological agents and stem cell transplantation, and is among the leading programs in the world for immune-based monoclonal antibody therapies. The Center has numerous clinical trials of antibodies, and was the first to combine two different monoclonal antibodies to treat lymphomas. A major focus of efforts is developing new immunotherapies and combining antibodies with other novel biologic agents to improve treatment results while attempting to avoid the toxicity of chemotherapy.

The Center pioneered the growth of radiolabeled antibody treatment for lymphoma, and has conducted a significant number of institutional and multicenter clinical trials in this area. The Center also was among the first to combine chemotherapy with radiolabeled antibodies as part of initial therapy for patients newly diagnosed with lymphoma.

Several clinical trials also are underway to evaluate vaccines administered following chemotherapy to delay or prevent recurrence of tumor. The Center's B cell lymphoma program continues to attract patients from all over the world with its innovative immunological therapies. Over the past four years, over 400 patients have participated in the Center's clinical trials of new treatment modalities. The Center also led the way and published extensively on the use of nuclear medicine imaging and scanning techniques to monitor treatment.

Multiple myeloma is one of the most prevalent and difficult lymphatic malignancies to treat because virtually nothing is known about its molecular basis. In 2000, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society awarded Weill Medical College of Cornell University a five-year, multimillion- dollar Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grant to study the fundamental causes of multiple myeloma and develop therapeutic agents. A goal of the study is to understand how normal plasma cells develop and how the genes that regulate their development and transformation work in order to formulate new treatment for the disease.