Pediatric Hematology & Oncology

Why Choose Mass General for Children (MGfC) for Childhood Cancer & Hematology

The Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology is a comprehensive children's program backed by the full resources of Massachusetts General Hospital and close collaboration with adult colleagues in the Mass General Cancer Center. Doctors who specialize in the care of children provide personalized, state-of-the-art care to children of all ages with malignancies and disorders of the blood.

The Pediatric Hematology Program offers specialized expertise in anemias, including sickle cell disease, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, aplastic anemia and other bone marrow failure syndromes. We also offer expert consultation and management of bleeding and clotting disorders including von Willebrand disease, hemophilia, thrombosis, and stroke.

• Pediatric Blood Disorders Program
• Pediatric Stroke Service
• Hemophilia and clotting disorders

The Pediatric Oncology Program offers multidisciplinary, comprehensive and family-centered care to children with all types of cancer. Our clinical staff has expertise in treating leukemias, lymphomas, common solid tumors of childhood including Wilms tumor, neuroblastoma, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, retinoblastoma, and brain tumors.

• Bone and Soft Tissue Program
• Head and neck tumors
• Pediatric brain tumors
• Leukemia and lymphoma
• Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic

Pediatric Oncology & Hematology Treatment

MGfC delivers the latest and most advanced treatments for childhood cancers and blood disorders.

• Pediatric surgical oncology: In addition to open surgery, we offer minimally invasive surgical techniques such as video-assisted thoracoscopy, laparoscopy, and robotic-assisted surgery to remove solid tumors.
• Pediatric radiation oncology: We are home to the only proton therapy site in New England. Proton therapy for children can be used to treat pediatric tumors while minimizing long-term effects on growth and development.
• Clinical trials: Our patients receive research-driven cancer treatment through access to the latest clinical trials available in cancer research and hematology, including current hemophilia research studies that may benefit our bleeding disorder patients. We are members of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) and the Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Consortium based at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Integrated & Multidisciplinary Pediatric Care

The patient care team is led by a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. Depending on the type of tumor and treatment plan, other members of the team may include a surgical specialist in pediatric surgery, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, urology, otolaryngology, orthopedics, orthopedic oncology, ophthalmology, oculoplastics or plastic surgery. Patient considered for radiation therapy (proton beam, intensity modulated or other types) are evaluated by pediatric radiation oncologists. Our team also includes senior-level oncology-certified nurses, nurse practitioners, child psychiatrists, social workers, child life specialists, nutritionists, physical therapists and rehabilitation medicine specialists.

Pediatric Oncology & Hematology Research

Our experts are conducting cutting-edge pediatric hematology and oncology research every day, seeking new and advanced treatments for our patients.

• David Sweetser, MD, PhD: Identification of targetable microRNAs in leukemia and the leukemic bone marrow niche
• Verena Gobel, MD: Investigating basic principles of epithelial cell polarity and growth control in the genetic model organism C.elegans to shed light on the loss of growth control and polarity in cancer cells
• Shannon Stott, PhD: Using microfluidic technologies to isolate pure populations of circulating tumor cells and exosomes in various pediatric cancers (e.g. medulloblastoma) to detect tumor response and monitor for mutations
• Bryan Choi, MD, PhD: Developing CAR T-cell therapy for pediatric brain tumors including ependymoma.
• Eric Grabowski, MD, SCD: Investigating the pathophysiology of enterohemorrhagic hemolytic uremic syndrome in childhood and exploring the role of von Willebrand factor Pro-peptide in platelet adhesion/aggregation in flowing blood
• Miguel Rivera, MD: Investigating the molecular pathogenesis of Ewing sarcoma

Pediatric Oncology & Hematology Patient Resources

View the full collection of patient resources from Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at MGfC

Nurse Practitioners

Kerry Chen, FNP-C
Cathy MacPherson, CNP
Alisa Perry, MSN, PNP-BC
Colleen Tighe, CNP
Mary Tower, CNP, MSN
Samantha Vincent, CNP