Leukemia Treatments
Leukemia is a relatively rare cancer, and where you go for treatment matters. At Columbia, our doctors are top experts specializing in each leukemia subtype. We offer the latest therapies and a collaborative team approach that puts your needs at the center of every decision.
If you have leukemia, your treatment plan will depend on the specific type of leukemia, how advanced it is, your genetic and molecular markers, and your overall health. This may include one or more of the following:
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted therapies
- Antibody treatments
- Stem cell transplant
- Supportive care
- Participation in a clinical trial
Medication therapy for leukemia
There are several different types of medications that can be given to treat leukemia.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses medications to stop cancer growth and spread and to prevent cancer from recurring by causing rapidly dividing cancer cells to become damaged and die.
Chemotherapy is “systemic” medicine—it interferes with all fast-dividing cells in your body. This action is why chemotherapy causes side effects like hair loss. You’ll either get chemotherapy through an IV in our infusion center (intravenously), through a pill (orally), or through the fluid in your spinal cord or surrounding your brain (intrathecally).
You may receive chemotherapy in cycles, with periods of rest between treatments. It may also be used before a stem cell transplant to prepare your body by wiping out diseased bone marrow. Your doctor will do tests like tumor molecular profiling to determine which drugs or drug combinations will best fight your disease with the lowest possible toxicity and side effects.
Antibody therapy
Antibody therapy is also known as passive immunotherapy. Instead of boosting your immune system directly, it uses lab-made proteins called antibodies that attach to the surface of cancer cells. This helps your immune system recognize and attack the cancer. These antibodies can also block signals that help cancer cells grow.
You may receive:
- Naked monoclonal antibodies, which trigger an immune response
- Conjugated antibodies, which deliver drugs or radiation directly to cancer cells
This therapy is often delivered in our infusion center and usually causes fewer side effects than chemotherapy.
Targeted therapy
Scientists have developed new drugs to target specific genes, proteins, and the tissue environment that encourages cancer cells to grow. These are called targeted therapies.
Unlike chemotherapy, targeted therapy does not harm all the cells in your body. As a result, you may have fewer side effects.
Targeted therapy is often combined with regular chemotherapy or antibody therapy to increase the chance that the cancer will respond and decrease the risk of it coming back.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that helps your immune system recognize and attack cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, which works by directly killing cancer cells, immunotherapy strengthens your body’s natural defenses to fight leukemia.
Some leukemia cells produce special proteins that allow them to hide from the immune system. Immunotherapy blocks those signals, making the cancer cells more visible and vulnerable to attack.
The number of approved immunotherapy drugs for leukemia is growing rapidly. At Columbia, we offer the latest FDA-approved therapies and are also involved in clinical research to explore the next generation of immunotherapy treatments. Immunotherapy may be used alone or combined with chemotherapy or targeted therapies to improve results.
CAR T-cell therapy
CAR T-cell therapy is a highly advanced form of immunotherapy used to treat certain types of leukemia. It works by taking your own T cells—specialized immune cells—and modifying them in a lab so they can better recognize and destroy leukemia cells when returned to your body.
Columbia is proud to be recognized as a Center of Excellence for CAR T-cell therapy, offering this groundbreaking treatment to eligible patients. We’ve also been FACT-certified since 2007, meeting the highest standards for quality and safety in cellular therapies—giving you access to the most trustworthy care.
Columbia patients may access CAR T-cell therapy either as part of standard treatment or through participation in clinical trials. During this process:
- T cells are collected from your blood
- In a specialized lab, those cells are engineered to recognize leukemia cells
- The modified cells are infused back into your body to fight the cancer
CAR T-cell therapy is currently used for certain cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and may be available for other types of leukemia through clinical trials. Columbia is actively involved in research to expand the use of CAR T-cell therapy and improve outcomes for leukemia patients.
Stem cell transplant
Leukemia is caused by a malfunction in the cells produced by the bone marrow. A stem cell (bone marrow) transplant may be recommended for people with certain types of leukemia – most often AML, ALL, and advanced-phase CML.
This process involves:
- High-dose chemotherapy to destroy diseased bone marrow (called a “conditioning regimen”)
- Infusion of healthy stem cells, either from yourself (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic), to regenerate healthy blood cells
Stem cell transplants can carry serious risks, including graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Our transplant team at Columbia is highly experienced in managing these complications and leading research into new therapies to reduce risk.
Clinical trials at Columbia
You may qualify to participate in a leukemia clinical trial, which allows you to benefit from the latest, promising treatment options for leukemia, while being closely monitored by a comprehensive care team. Clinical trials can be a good option if your leukemia isn’t responding to standard therapies or if it has come back.
Our leukemia clinical trials include:
- Investigational drug combinations
- Next-generation targeted therapies
- Immunotherapies, including CAR T-cell therapies
- Trials for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant leukemia
Your Columbia physicians and oncologists will help you determine if there is an ongoing clinical trial that is right for you.
Supportive and palliative care
Supportive and palliative care are an essential part of maintaining your strength, quality of life, and emotional health during your leukemia treatment at Columbia.
Supportive care helps you feel as well as possible so you can stay on treatment. This may include:
- Blood transfusions for low red blood cell or platelet counts
- Antibiotics to prevent or treat infections
- Growth factor injections to help boost healthy blood cell production
Palliative care is specialized support that helps manage symptoms, relieve pain, and address emotional distress—for both patients and their families. It can be provided at any stage of leukemia, not just at the end of life.
Our team offers:
- Expert pain and symptom management
- Emotional and psychological support
- Guidance with complex medical decisions
- Coordination of care across your treatment team
Your treatment, your voice
At Columbia, your goals, values, and preferences are important to us. From diagnosis through survivorship, you’ll be supported by a team that listens and builds a treatment plan with you, not just for you.
We believe that the best outcomes come from strong partnerships between patients and care teams—rooted in trust, respect, and personalized care.