Clinical

Division of Hematology & Oncology
CLINICAL ACTIVITIES

• Evaluating Patients’ Fitness for Cancer Treatment
• Clinical Statistics

Division faculty provide care for patients with a wide range of hematologic and oncologic diseases in a variety of settings, including:

• 29-bed hematology/oncology inpatient unit
• Seven-bed stem cell transplant unit
• Consult service for patients with hematologic disorders admitted by other teams at UVA Medical Center
• Robust outpatient practice concentrated in the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center (ECCCC)

Chemotherapy is administered at the ECCCC Infusion Center as well as on the hospital inpatient ward, and bone marrow biopsies are performed by members of the division faculty and fellows, on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.

The division’s Hematology section is among the busiest services for inpatient and outpatient consultation at University Hospital, providing expertise in disorders of hemostasis/thrombosis, cytopenias and nonmalignant hematology. It also provides oversight and leadership for important safety initiatives at the medical center, including Joint Commission mandates for thromboprophylaxis and use of factor replacement therapies. A new faculty member, Laahn Foster, MD, who joins Hematology at the start of FY 2016 (July 2015), will provide support for this section in the areas of diagnosis/treatment of red blood cell disorders and of hematologic malignancies.

The division’s hematologic malignancies team specializes in cancers of the blood and lymphatic systems. Dramatic advances have been made recently for many of these disorders, arising from new insights into their molecular biology and the application of targeted therapies, which complement or replace traditional chemotherapeutic and radiotherapy approaches. The leukemia program is a new initiative, led by  Michael Douvas, MD, in collaboration with Leonid Volodin, MBBS, and Michael Keng, MD. They will integrate the complex services needed for treatment of these disorders, including induction therapies, novel agents and cellular therapies such as stem cell transplantation. The current seven-bed stem cell transplant unit will be renovated and expanded during the first and second quarter of FY 2016 to add an additional seven beds that will be available for both acute-leukemia and stem-cell transplant patients, supported by specialized nursing and clinical research capabilities. Underlying all of the division’s clinical services is a commitment to the Be Safe initiatives of UVA Health System.

The Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) program continues to build its regional reputation and referral base. The program was approved for matched unrelated allogeneic stem cell transplants by the National Marrow Donor Program; importantly, it also achieved accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) — a recognition that the UVA program has met top standards for SCT programs nationwide. In FY 2015, SCT physicians and clinical staff completed 40 transplants (29 autologous, nine allogeneic and two cord blood transplants).

The division’s SCT program also received approval in FY 2015 as an affiliate center of the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Clinical Trials Network, and will participate in a national clinical trial comparing the use of haploidentical-related bone marrow and unrelated umbilical cord blood in transplant procedures.

The division’s Medical Oncology section welcomed a new director, Robert Dreicer, MD, in January 2015. Dr. Dreicer also serves as deputy director and associate director for clinical research of the NCI-designated UVA Cancer Center. As the former chair of medical oncology at the Cleveland Clinic and an internationally recognized expert in genitourinary oncology, Dr. Dreicer provides important leadership for the division’s programs and mentorship for its faculty. The division further expanded its clinical depth with the addition of three other faculty members: Elizabeth Gaughan, MD, who focuses on head and neck cancer and genitourinary cancers and melanoma; and Ryan Gentzler, MD, and Richard Hall, MD, both in thoracic oncology.

The division conducts a wide range of clinical trials, with a special focus on monoclonal antibody, vaccine, immune checkpoint inhibitor and small molecule targeted therapy approaches. A focus this year was centralizing the infrastructure for clinical research in coordination with UVA Cancer Center’s Office of Clinical Research. Key accomplishments included hiring a manager, Karen Parks, RN, who will supervise the growing group of clinical research coordinators for the division, and provide oversight of the new trials approval process, under the direction of Dr. Dreicer and the disease team leaders.

As is apparent from the clinical statistics for the past year, growth in new patient volumes continues at an impressive pace, increasing by 29 percent for FY 2015. The division is working closely with leaders in the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center and in the hospital’s inpatient units to provide the highest-quality care for patients in Virginia and beyond.