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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Pediatrics

Clinical Care

Nationally recognized, doctors and nurses in the IU School of Medicine Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology are dedicated to providing preeminent care for children and adolescents with cancer or blood-related diseases across Indiana and beyond. A leading source of research and discovery, this pediatric specialty team seeks new approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood cancer and blood disorders. All of the physicians in the clinical Pediatric Hematology/Oncology team are faculty members at IU School of Medicine.

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health services the entire state of Indiana as well as bordering regions of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. With comprehensive interdisciplinary disease-focused teams, doctors and staff treat 75 percent of all new pediatric cancer diagnoses in Indiana and see an average of 250 new oncology patients each year, recording more than 13,000 outpatient visits per year focused on leukemias, solid tumors, brain tumors, hematopoietic/stem cell transplant, general hematology, sickle cell disease, bone marrow failure syndromes, hemophilia and other coagulation disorders. Riley Hospital for Children offers the only pediatric stem cell transplant program in the state of Indiana, treating 30-40 patients per year.

Looking for Patient Care?

To schedule an appointment with an IU School of Medicine pediatrician, contact IU Health at 888-484-3258 or online using the Find a Doctor portal.

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Clinical Research

By integrating patient care and research, this faculty team aims to improve outcomes in children with cancer and blood disorders while working to continually provide the best care for all children. A longstanding member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology provides the only local access to a variety of investigational treatments. COG, a National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials group, is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. Riley Hospital is consistently one of the top five COG centers for clinical trial enrollment.

Precision Medicine and Precision Genomics

Precision medicine, or personalized medicine, offers an ability to optimize management and therapeutic benefits for an individual or specific group of patients. It often uses biomarkers, companion diagnostics or molecular profiling to inform a specific treatment approach and tailor management. This approach aims to attenuate the risk of developing specific illnesses and to target specific treatments for illnesses in order to ultimately keep people healthier. Genomic medicine is the use of an individual’s genetic information to understand the cause of disease, establish a precise diagnosis, and/or identify specific molecular or immune-mediated therapeutic targets. Although these approaches are just beginning to have an impact on health care and outcomes for children, in fields such as oncology, personalized molecular medicine that includes targeted molecular and biological therapeutics, it is already showing significant benefits. The Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at IU School of Medicine is making significant inroads in Precision Medicine, allowing doctors and researchers to more accurately predict which treatment and prevention strategy will be effective for certain groups of patients. The Precision Genomics Clinical Program helps children with all types of relapsed or aggressive cancer receive personalized treatment and is the only program of its kind in the midwest to offer this comprehensive, personalized medicine service.

Cancer Survivor Program

The Childhood Cancer Survivor Program at Riley Children’s Cancer Center is designed to help meet the unique needs of the growing population of childhood cancer survivors. Nearly 90 percent of children who are diagnosed with cancer today are expected to survivor their illness. It is now estimated that 375,000 adults are survivors of childhood cancer. Sixty percent of the children who survive their disease suffer devastating late effects, and the multidisciplinary clinic provides surveillance and early intervention for these ongoing medical needs as well as psycho/social support, including education and occupational counseling.