The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is a world leader in treating leukemia. Physician and scientist Dr. Brian Druker is an internationally recognized pioneer in targeted therapy and precision cancer medicine.

Dr. Druker played a central role in developing Gleevec, a daily pill for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) that has saved tens of thousands of lives. Now he is helping lead Beat AML, a major effort to find better treatments for acute myeloid leukemia.

We offer you:

• Team-based care from specialists who have advanced training in blood cancers, including rare types.
• The latest immunotherapies for blood cancers, including leukemia.
• An unmatched focus on research, including a world-class early-detection center and the largest AML database of its kind.
• Oregon’s only allogeneic (from a donor) bone marrow/stem cell transplants.
• Access to innovative clinical trials to test promising new treatments.
• A wide range of support services for you and your family.

Learn more

• Understanding leukemia
• Leukemia diagnosis and treatment
• Bone marrow transplant
• Our team

What makes us different

Expertise: Our providers focus on specific types of leukemia. They will bring you detailed knowledge of your cancer type, even if it’s rare. Your team will work with you to tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs.

Experience: Our doctors are all fellowship-trained, meaning they completed at least a year of advanced training in blood cancers or related areas.

Innovations: In addition to work on Gleevec and many other breakthroughs, our researchers helped develop immunotherapies for blood cancers. OHSU was the first hospital in the Northwest to offer Kymriah, an immunotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and types of lymphoma. This therapy modifies a patient’s own cells to fight cancer.

National recognition: We’ve earned the National Cancer Institute’s top designation for leadership in research.

Complete care

Precision medicine: OHSU scientists, working with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and other universities across the U.S., are studying acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the molecular level. The Beat AML project aims to develop targeted medications to stop this cancer while sparing healthy cells.

Exceptional hospital care: Our Center for Hematologic Malignancies (blood cancers) inpatient unit, which includes nurses with specialty training, continually ranks in the top 5% nationally for patient satisfaction.

Support services: Our nurse coordinators and cancer social workers with appointments, prescriptions and concerns with transportation or finances. We also offer services for patients who live far away.

Second opinions: We’re happy to provide you with a second opinion so you can be confident you are getting the most accurate diagnosis and the best care possible.

Community care: Depending on your diagnosis and location, you may be able to receive some treatments close to home. Our specialists also travel to clinics in central and southern Oregon several times a month to provide consultations and follow-up care.

Clinical trials and research

Clinical trials: The Knight Cancer Institute has hundreds of clinical trials to test better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose and treat cancer. Your care team will discuss whether one of these studies is right for you.

AML data set: Dr. Druker and OHSU’s Jeff Tyner, Ph.D., helped lead an effort to build the largest AML data set of its kind. The data set contains information on hundreds of cancer cell samples and how they responded to dozens of targeted medications. It offers a rich resource for researchers seeking to unlock new ways to treat AML.

State-of-the-art research space: In 2018, we opened the Knight Cancer Research Building, a 320,000-square-foot center designed to encourage collaboration among hundreds of scientists.

Early detection: Our Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR) is dedicated to finding new ways to detect cancer early, when it’s most curable.