High-Risk Leukemia Program

We know that any cancer diagnosis is incredibly scary and stressful, and hearing that your child’s leukemia has returned or may be harder to cure can feel impossible to bear. We are here to support your child and family with innovative treatments grounded in the latest research.

The High-Risk Leukemia Program provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for children, adolescents, and young adults diagnosed with high-risk leukemia. This includes some patients with acute myeloid and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, relapsed leukemia, and leukemia that is resistant to standard treatments. The care we provide is backed by the latest research.

Thankfully, most children with leukemia will be cured with standard chemotherapy. Unfortunately, some patients need new or additional treatments to be cured. The High-Risk Leukemia Program was designed to meet the needs of these patients and improve their treatment outcomes, relying on our unique resources and expertise in cellular therapy and stem cell transplantation.

Our program may be right for your child if they:

  • Have leukemia and have suffered a relapse of any kind.
  • Have refractory (resistant to treatment) leukemia or persistent minimal residual leukemia after receiving standard treatment.  
  • Were recently diagnosed with acute leukemia with any of the following features:
    • Ph+
    • Ph-like
    • RAS pathway mutations
    • PAX5 mutation
    • IKZF1 mutation/IKZF1plus
    • Hypodiploid
    • KMT2A rearranged
    • Down syndrome
    • ALL in children under 1 year old
    • High-risk AML
    • Other rare leukemias such as JMML

Why choose us to treat your child’s leukemia

  • The treatments we offer are backed by groundbreaking research. Many of our doctors are also researchers, working in the lab to develop better ways to treat leukemia and bringing those new treatments to our patients. We offer several only-at-Stanford clinical trials testing promising new approaches like cellular therapy.
  • We have experience caring for complex patients. We routinely care for medically complex patients. If your child has complications from their treatment or other medical diagnoses, rest assured that our team will be able to care for their specialized needs.
  • Many experts discuss each child’s case. Our entire team of high-risk leukemia and lymphoma experts meet regularly to make sure each patient benefits from our combined expertise.
  • Our hospital is the perfect place for kids to heal. Our state-of-the-art inpatient unit, new outpatient clinic, and all-private infusion rooms are designed to help reduce infections and increase joy.
  • Your child is in the best hands. We bring different specialists together to treat every aspect of your child’s condition. In addition to experienced doctors and nurses, your child’s care team may include physical and occupational therapists, mental health specialists, and Child Life Specialists to help your child and family through an extremely challenging time.