Established in 1984, the Duke Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation (ABMT) Program has treated over 3,000 patients from all over the world over the past 20 years.

Many of those patients return to share their inspirational stories at the annual patient reunion each summer.

A Team Approach

The Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Program’s comprehensive team of more than 70 caregivers works together to determine if a patient would benefit from a transplant. Then, the team works to provide the patient with information and support necessary to design the best individualized treatment plan.

A support team of a physical therapist, clinical social worker, dieticians, financial counselors, and a pharmacist assess a patient’s unique needs to guide them along to physical, emotional and overall life recovery.

Promising Research

The ABMT team conducts extensive research not only into the potential of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, but into the other kinds of treatments that can, in conjunction with transplantation, offer patients an even better prognosis. Some examples include immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and anti-angiogenesis therapy as well as other indications such as the use of these cells for peripheral vascular disease and acute myocardial infarction.

Since fewer than 25 percent of adult patients have access to closely matched donors, Duke researchers are leading studies with partially matched cord blood or haploidentical related donors to make transplantation easier for patients without a sibling of matching blood or bone marrow.

Duke is making progress in reducing the rate of patient relapse by combining transplants with vaccines made from a patient’s own dentritic cells that are “trained” to recognize cancer cells.

The ABMST program is testing using non-ablative stem cell transplants that involve a less intense pre-transplant chemotherapy regimen in order to make transplantations more feasible for older, sicker patients than previously possible. 

The program also offers a wide range of clinical trials, giving patients access to various new and experimental treatments.