Thomas W. LeBlanc, MD, MA
Hematologic Oncologist, Hematologist (Malignant)
My Locations
Part of the Duke Cancer Institute
Part of the Duke Cancer Institute
About Me
As a blood cancer specialist and also a palliative care physician, I bring a different focus to cancer care. I’m working hard to improve the treatment experience for patients who are living with blood cancers. By understanding your experience better, we can develop new ways to improve your quality of life, and provide additional support throughout your treatment and beyond.
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy 2022
- Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences, Population Health Sciences 2019
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute 2013
Call for an Appointment
Areas of Expertise
- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
- Hairy Cell Leukemia
- Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
In the News
Loading
Loading
Loading
Loading
Loading
Loading
Clinical Focus and Research
My research focuses on improving our understanding of patients' experiences receiving treatment for blood cancer. By better understanding issues that impact patients' quality of life, such as the most common or bothersome symptoms that happen during or after treatment, I hope to improve the overall experience of living with, and being treated for, various blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. I am also working to better integrate the expertise of palliative care specialists into the care of patients with blood cancers. Palliative care can help patients improve or maintain quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment.
-
SCOPE-LeukemiaIRB# PRO00110266 , NCT# NCT05237258
- Gao, Lucy, Ashley Nelson, Anna Barata, Nora Horick, Braelyn Wekwerth, Ally Wood, Anushka Fernandes, et al. “Prolonged Hospitalization for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Characteristics, Risk Factors and Associations with Patient-Reported and Clinical Outcomes.” Transplant Cell Ther 31, no. 9 (September 2025): 697.e1-697.e12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtct.2025.05.026.
- El-Jawahri, Areej, Thomas W. LeBlanc, Ali Kavanaugh, Jason Webb, James Fausto, Lara Traeger, Joseph A. Greer, et al. “Multisite Randomized Trial of Inpatient Palliative Care Intervention for Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.” J Clin Oncol 43, no. 24 (August 20, 2025): 2700–2711. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO-25-00378.
- Cohn, Julia G., Susan C. Locke, Kris W. Herring, Susan F. Dent, and Thomas W. LeBlanc. “Palliative care use and end-of-life care quality in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.” Breast Cancer Res Treat, August 16, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-025-07805-4.
- LeBlanc, T. W. “Pain Management and Antiemetic Therapy in Hematologic Disorders.” In Hematology Basic Principles and Practice Eighth Edition, 1616–30, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-73388-5.00099-7.
- Bryant, A. L., and T. W. LeBlanc. “Introduction,” Vol. 35, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2019.150961.
- Leblanc, T. W., and A. H. Kamal. “Management of cancer pain.” In Devita Hellman and Rosenberg S Cancer Principles Practice of Oncology, 2190–2212, 2018.
- Cohn, Julia, Susan C. Locke, Kris W. Herring, Susan F. Dent, and Thomas W. LeBlanc. “Abstract P2-01-13: Palliative Care Use and End-of-Life Care Quality in HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer.” In Clinical Cancer Research, Vol. 31. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs24-p2-01-13.
- Caviness-Ashe, Nicole, Rita Masese, Thomas LeBlanc, Nancy Crego, Angelo Moore, and Ashley Leak Bryant. “UNDERSTANDING HOW BLACK PATIENTS WITH LEUKEMIA NAVIGATE CANCE CARE.” In ONCOLOGY NURSING FORUM, Vol. 52, 2025.
- Mol, Isha, Yannan Hu, Grace Hsu, Thomas Leblanc, Patrick Hlavacek, Joseph C. Cappelleri, Haitao Chu, Guido Nador, Isabel Perez Cruz, and Bart Heeg. “FROM BIAS TO CONFIDENCE: EXPLORING QUANTITATIVE BIAS ANALYSIS' (QBA'S) ROLE IN MATCHING ADJUSTED INDIRECT TREATMENT COMPARISON.” In VALUE IN HEALTH, 28:S291–92, 2025.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
-
Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
-
Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
-
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
-
*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
-
Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
-
*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
-
Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
-
Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
-
Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
-
Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
-
NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- UHC Community Plan
- WellCare of North Carolina
-
TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
-
United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
-
*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
-
**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- AbbVie, Inc.
- American Cancer Society
- Astellas Pharma Inc.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Celgene Corporation
- Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd
- Dosentrx
- Eli Lilly & Co.
- Genentech, Inc (Roche Holding)
- Geron Pharmaceuticals
- Gilead Sciences, Inc.
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Incyte
- Menarini Stemline
- Novartis pharmaceuticals
- Novo Nordisk
- Pfizer Inc.
- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc
- Servier Pharmaceuticals
- Syndax
- Taiho
- Thyme Care
- UpToDate, Inc