Department of

Clinical Haematology Oncology and HCT

Department of Clinical Haematology Oncology and HCT

About the Department:

The Department of Clinical Hematology and BMT at Tata Medical Center in Kolkata, provides comprehensive services for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of hematological disorders. The Department was initiated by the Padma Shri Prof. Mammen Chandy. The department has a reputation for providing quality care and evidence-based management to its patients, with a team of highly qualified and experienced consultants. Patient care is a top priority at the Department of Clinical Hematology and BMT at Tata Medical Center. The department provides comprehensive and personalized care to its patients, with a multidisciplinary team of specialists working together to provide the best possible outcomes for each patient. The department also has a dedicated team of fellows, nurses, social workers, co-ordinators and psychologists who work together to provide support and care for patients and their families throughout the treatment process.

The department is committed to training the next generation of hematologists and oncologists, and it offers a variety of training programs, including DrNB fellowships, internships, and observer ship. The department has a strong focus on research and innovation, with a dedicated team of researchers working on cutting-edge projects in the field of hematology and bone marrow transplantation.

The department is also involved in a number of clinical trials and investigator initiated trials aimed at developing new treatments and improving existing therapies for hematological disorders. These trials offer patients access to the latest treatments and technologies, and contribute to the advancement of medical science in the field of hematology.

In addition to its reputation for providing outstanding care for patients with Blood disorders, the Department of Clinical Hematology and BMT at Tata Medical Center is also recognized for the enormous volume of patients it treats each year. The department sees a roughly two and a half thousand new patients annually with hematological malignancies and also benign hematological conditions such as thalassemias, bleeding disorders, thrombotic disorders and aplastic anemia.

The BMT program at Tata Medical Center is considered one of the most comprehensive programs in the country. The program offers both autologous and allogeneic transplant options, and the department has a team of highly experienced transplant physicians and nurses who provide personalized care to each patient. The program also has a dedicated stem cell lab, which offers apheresis and other stem cell processing services.

The department’s research program is focused on developing new and innovative therapies for hematological disorders, including bone marrow transplantation. The department’s researchers are involved in a wide range of projects, from basic research on the biology of hematological disorders to translational research aimed at developing new therapies and treatments for patients.

Department of Clinical Hematology and BMT at Tata Medical Center aims to be a world-class center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of hematological disorders. With a team of highly qualified and experienced consultants, a strong focus on training and research, and a commitment to providing personalized care to each patient, the department is at the forefront of the fight against hematological disorders in India.

CIBMTR

CLINICAL HAEMATOLOGY DISEASE TYPES

  • Acute Leukemia and Myelodysplasia
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation: Autologous and Allogeneic Hematopoietic cell Transplantation
  • Lymphoproliferative Disorders including Aggressive lymphomas, Low Grade Lymphoma, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Related Diseases
  • Myeloma and Plasma cell neoplasms
  • Myeloproliferative Diseases including Chronic Myeloid leukemia, Myelofibrosis, etc.
  • Non-Malignant Haematology with a focus on bone marrow failure syndromes (e.g. aplastic anemia), thrombocytopenia, thalassemia (transplantation), immunodeficiencies in the adult, thrombotic disorders, etc.
  • Long Term Follow Up and Survivorship

Patient facilities in the department:

Monday through Saturday, clinical faculty led outpatient services operate from 9am-5:30pm (4pm on Saturdays), through pre-confirmed appointments. Outpatient services cater to new patient registrations, patients undergoing various treatment programs, follow-up and long term survivorship. The outpatient service is located in the ground floor of phase-2 block of the hospital. Treatment decisions for patients are discussed thoroughly in multi-disciplinary team meetings and decisions taken. Care is taken to counsel patients on the benefits, risks and cost-effectiveness of treatments suggested. In a year, this service handles close to thirty thousand patient visits. Patients and their attendants are advised to contact registration desk for appointments.

24×7 inpatient services in the private and general wards catering to the whole spectrum of malignant and select non-malignant hematological/ blood disorders. This includes clinical coverage of patients reporting to emergency services, day-care systemic therapy service, and patients admitted in the intensive care or high-dependency units. The private and general service inpatient wards are located in the fifth and fourth floor respectively, of the phase-2 block of the hospital. The facilities are managed by clinical consultants, registrars/fellows and nurse specialists as a single team covering all hospitalized patients. In a year, this service handles close to two thousand inpatient admissions.

The service is run by clinical nurse specialists under the supervision of clinicians and caters to patients who receive day-care based anti-cancer or disease directed treatments and supportive care. Outpatient procedures, like bone marrow aspiration, bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, etc. are carried out in a section of the day care service. Day-care services are located in the first floor and third floor of phase-1 and phase-2 blocks respectively.

(aka, bone marrow transplantation). The department has a comprehensive HCT service inclusive of a 9-bed inpatient transplant facility, outpatient service with limited day-care services, a well-equipped apheresis and cell-processing facility. This is a combined adult and paediatric HCT program. This facility is located in the fourth floor of the phase-1 block of the hospital and is provided round the clock coverage by clinicians led by faculty and registrars, and nurses led by clinical nurse specialist. The peripheral blood stem-cell apheresis program and cryopreservation (cell-processing) facility is managed by a transfusion medicine specialised junior consultant Dr. Rizwan Javed and dedicated nursing personnel. Outpatient services are handled by the clinical faculty in the outpatient clinics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Paediatric HCT and clinics are handled by the paediatric haematology oncology team in this service as a combine adult and paediatric HCT program.

Treatment facilities available for treatment of Hematological cancers and related disorders

  1. Chemotherapy
  2. Immunotherapy
  3. Hematopoietic Cell transplantation: autologous and allogeneic HCT (matched related donor, haploidentical donor and matched unrelated donor transplantation)
  4. Radiation therapy (through the Radiation Oncology service)
  5. Surgery (through the appropriate surgical specialty service)
  6. Immunosuppressive or Immunomodulating therapies as appropriate to the disorder.

Academic Programs

The department conducts clinical training programs in the disciplines related to Haematology. They are as follows:


  1. National Board accredited degree program, DrNB in Haematology (3 year course)
  2. Institutional fellowship in Haemato-Oncology (2 year course)
  3. Institutional fellowship in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (1-2 year course)

Teaching Programs

The department has an active teaching program in Hematological disorders, comprising of


  1. Didactic Lectures
  2. Case discussions
  3. Seminars
  4. Multi-disciplinary symposia,
  5. Journal clubs and
  6. Guest talks

Significant Investigator-initiated research projects

  1. Lymphoma registry program through the Onco-Collect registry, International T-cell Lymphoma registry project, and the Lymphomap (AI-driven) project: Prof. Reena Nair
  2. Tata Precision Oncology Program: Dr. Vivek Radhakrishnan, ALTITUDE study (Acute Myeloid Leukemia)
  3. CIBMTR registry project, Bone Marrow transplant Registry program: Dr. Vivek Radhakrishnan and Reghu KS
  4. Indian Myeloma study group Myeloma registry program (ImAGE study): Dr. Jeevan Kumar
  5. Cancer Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology (CRIMSON) Project: Dr. Vivek Radhakrishnan
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Consultants

Dr Reena Nair
MD

Dr Jeevan Kumar
MD, DrNB(Hem),
PDF (Hem, BMT)

Dr Rizwan Javed
MD (Path),
PDF (Transfusion Med), MSc