Pediatric Hematology and Oncology

Pediatric Hematology and Oncology focuses on treating blood disorders and malignant tumors in children and adolescents. Both common conditions such as pallor, anemia, bleeding, bruises, and enlarged lymph nodes, as well as various childhood cancers that can cause great concern to the public, fall within the expertise of pediatric hematology and oncology. Although the incidence of childhood cancer in Taiwan is only about one in ten thousand, it ranks fourth in the causes of death for children under 18 years old and third for those aged 12-17. If you have concerns in this area, please seek the assistance of pediatric hematology and oncology to ensure the health of your child.

Integrated Treatment for Bone Cancer and Soft Tissue Sarcoma

(1) Professional and Comprehensive Bone Cancer Care Team

The treatment of bone and soft tissue cancers requires close collaboration between pediatric and orthopedic surgeons. Since 1998, we have been working together with orthopedic surgeons to provide the best possible treatment for patients. Today, the bone cancer care team at Taipei Veterans General Hospital has become the most experienced institution in Taiwan for caring for bone and soft tissue tumors. We work together with other departments, nurses, social workers, and other professionals to provide patients with a tight network of care.

(2) Actively Developing Precision Medicine to Reduce Chemotherapy Side Effects in Malignant Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Patients

Precision medicine is one of the important trends in medical advancement today. The pediatric hematology-oncology department, together with the pediatric genetics and metabolism department and the ear, nose, and throat department, has developed testing for genes related to ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and drug resistance. By testing genes related to chemotherapy toxicity and predicting possible toxicity based on patient tumor characteristics and other information, we can develop personalized care plans through shared decision-making between patients and healthcare providers.

(3) Actively Conducting Clinical Trials for Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors

We are actively conducting clinical trials for new drugs for bone and soft tissue tumors. Currently, we are conducting a second-phase randomized clinical trial for recurrent bone and soft tissue tumors in search of breakthrough targeted therapies.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

(1) The experience of transplanting high-risk brain tumors and sarcomas in children is the most extensive in the country, and the treatment is unique in the nation.

The Taipei Veterans General Hospital Children's Brain Tumor Integrated Treatment Team, which has been operating for many years, is the most comprehensive brain tumor treatment team in Taiwan, and it is not inferior to world-class children's brain tumor treatment institutions. Every Thursday afternoon, the integrated outpatient clinic for children's brain tumors is held, where the department and pediatric neurosurgeons, pediatric neurologists, neuro-radiologists, and cancer center radiotherapy physicians work together to provide integrated evaluation and treatment recommendations for children with brain tumors, as well as provide complete long-term follow-up services for patients after treatment. Among them, for high-risk embryonic malignant brain tumors or extremely young malignant brain tumor patients, the department provides these patients with a treatment method of high-dose chemotherapy combined with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Since 2009, autologous stem cell transplantation has been included in the treatment plan for brain tumor care. In the past ten years, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been performed in about 30 patients for a total of 50 times, with safety and clear results, which can reduce or delay the use of radiotherapy in young children. It is currently the medical team with the most experience in using this treatment method in the country, and the results have been published in medical societies and journals both domestically and internationally, and have won various awards and certifications.

(2) The technology of pediatric stem cell transplantation is mature, and the rare blood cancer stem cell transplantation has achieved leading results in the country.

Blood cancer is the most common malignant tumor in children, and the treatment is chemotherapy. For high-risk and relapsed patients, the treatment method is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Currently, in collaboration with the hospital's adult hematology oncology department and transfusion medicine department, more than 100 cases of pediatric allogeneic, unrelated, and half-matched hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have been performed within ten years, with a mature and rich treatment experience. In addition, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is an extremely rare childhood leukemia, with poor response to all chemotherapy treatments, and the only treatment method is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The hospital has previously successfully treated several cases and published results in medical societies both domestically and internationally, receiving responses. Subsequently, many children from outside the hospital, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other places, were referred to the hospital for treatment. The hospital's current treatment results are leading in Taiwan and comparable to those abroad.

(3) Beyond Cancer Care, Careful Follow-up After Complete Cure

Although stem cell transplantation can reduce or delay radiation to the central nervous system in brain tumor patients, effectively reducing radiation-induced central nervous system damage, patients who survive long-term after cure may still experience organ damage, including memory, psychological, cognitive, endocrine, and especially bone marrow and hearing damage. Our hospital also provides complete and careful follow-up and evaluation after treatment, taking into account every aspect of the child's health beyond the disease.

Continuing to promote childhood cancer treatment and care

In addition to caring for children at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, we are also committed to promoting the treatment of all cancer-stricken children in Taiwan. Director Hong Jun-yi serves as the project leader for the Taiwan Childhood Bone Cancer Program and has formulated guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood bone cancer in Taiwan. Dr. Yan Hsiu-ju serves as the project leader for the long-term follow-up program for pediatric cancer survivors and has developed guidelines for the follow-up of pediatric cancer survivors in Taiwan.