Nicklaus Children's Hospital is one of only a few hospitals in Florida, and the first pediatric hospital in South Florida, to offer the latest immune cell treatment for children and adolescents with certain types of leukemia.
The treatment, known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy uses a patient's own immune system cells to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and B cell lymphomas. Above is a picture of a 3D rendered T-cell. The Nicklaus Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Institute is an approved treatment facility to deliver the FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy to the pediatric population.
“CAR T-cell therapy not only provides us with a more precise treatment option for children and adolescents with advanced types of cancers, but it also brings forth the opportunity for a tailored, less invasive, and perhaps less toxic treatment option to improve the quality of life for the patients in our care,” said Dr. Jorge Galvez Silva, director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
The FDA-approved Kymriah, a Novartis product, is the first gene-modified therapy available in the United States for pediatric and young adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and B cell lymphomas.
The Cancer and Blood Disorders Institute at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, is the region's leader in the care of children with cancer and hematologic disorders. The institute provides state-of-the-art intervention and therapies with a level of clinical experience and patient-focused support that is unmatched in the region. The institute is recognized for its multidisciplinary, holistic approach to care that places the child and family at the center of a highly coordinated network of specialists who work together to anticipate and meet the needs of the child and family throughout treatment and follow-up care.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™ (2025)
For 75 years, Nicklaus Children's has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children serving close to 70 percent of children in the Miami metropolitan community. In addition, Nicklaus Children's offers care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center's De George Pediatric Unit and select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units. The hospital and its network of more of nearly 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. These outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care, and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS). Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedic, Sports Medicine and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 325-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with over 40 specialties, and an ambulatory surgery center.