Tampa General Hospital Announces Launch of Outpatient Cellular-Immunotherapy Transplant Unit at the TGH Cancer Institute

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The New Program Enables Patients with Aggressive Cancers to Receive Cell Therapy Treatment Under Outpatient Care

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Tampa General Hospital (TGH) today announced the opening of a new outpatient Cellular-Immunotherapy Transplant Unit (CTU) at the TGH Cancer Institute to offer alternative cell therapy treatment to patients with aggressive blood cancers such as leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and other cancers.

The program allows adult patients undergoing Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) to receive daily treatment at the new unit as an outpatient while living at home with a 24/7 caregiver to monitor the patient, take vitals and communicate regularly with TGH clinicians on the patient’s behalf. To qualify for the outpatient treatment program, patients and their caregivers must meet specific medical criteria, live within a 60-minute radius of the hospital and complete a mandatory educational course.

“The establishment of the new Cellular-Immunotherapy Transplant Unit at the TGH Cancer Institute represents a major milestone in our endeavor to remain at the forefront of innovative treatments for patients with complex cancers,” said Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor, vice president and executive director of the TGH Cancer Institute. “Through this latest advancement, patients can receive cell therapy treatment at Tampa General on an outpatient instead of inpatient basis.”

CAR T-cell therapy is an immunological treatment that uses the body’s own immune T cells to find and kill cancer cells. BMT, also known as stem cell therapy (SCT), is a proven treatment for patients with blood cancers who have a high risk of relapsing after traditional therapies.

The CTU is led by Dr. Ivan Borrello, a world-renowned specialist in multiple myeloma and director of the Multiple Myeloma, Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapies program at Tampa General, along with a team of dedicated cell therapy nurses, practitioners and social workers. Borrello joined the TGH Cancer Institute in 2022 from the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore, where he established a novel translational cell therapy program.

“Shifting to an outpatient setting for patients receiving cell therapy can have several benefits, including that the majority of patients prefer the comforts of living at home, are more physically active and have better nutrition,” Borrello said. “Living at home with the support of loved ones and trusted caregivers enables patients to live a fuller life each day and their condition tends to improve more quickly and experience less depression and anxiety. Furthermore, some studies even suggest better overall transplant outcomes when performed in the outpatient setting.”

In a 2021, systematic review of 29 comparative studies published by PLOS, a nonprofit, open-access publisher for researchers demonstrated that the outpatient model in its different forms has several benefits for health care organizations and patients. When looking at safety and effectiveness, the outpatient option scores higher in both autologous (using the patient’s own stem cells) and in allogeneic (stem cells collected from a donor) cases. Numerous studies show the frequency of complications to be lower in patients receiving outpatient treatment. Patients who can be in their own home after visiting the outpatient clinic have better nutrition which has been associated with lower probability of side effects.

CTU patients are thoroughly evaluated by the care team to determine if outpatient cell therapy is the best treatment option. “While we monitor our CTU patients closely, caregivers play an integral role in the patient’s treatment and recovery,” said Jennifer Hanle, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, lead nurse practitioner of the CTU. Hanle also joined the TGH Cancer Institute in 2022 from the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.

Patients receiving cell therapy are typically hospitalized for about three weeks. Cell therapy outpatients visit the clinic daily to receive the same type of treatment and monitoring they would receive in the hospital. The CTU team includes physicians and nurses who specialize in the care of cell therapy patients. If a patient’s condition changes, the patient can be quickly admitted to the hospital.

The TGH Cancer Institute Cell Therapy Unit offers patients beds or recliners for their comfort during treatment. “Nurses and physicians have the same expertise and training in cell therapy as the inpatient team. Patients receive clinically excellent care and many of our caregivers work in both locations,” said Jennifer Feeley, nurse manager for Tampa General’s inpatient cell therapy unit.

In 2022, the TGH Cancer Institute opened a state-of-the-art Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) and Cell Therapies unit to treat patients with aggressive blood cancers, such as leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and other types of cancer. In 2023, the Institute began its CAR T treatment program for patients with aggressive forms of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas and more.

“Tampa General has made significant enhancements in cell therapy cancer treatments and advanced immunotherapy options over the past several years,” said Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, EVP, chief of Oncology, president of the Tampa General Provider Network and co-vice president of Clinical and Translational Research for the TGH-USF Health Office of Clinical Research. “Providing cell therapy patients cancer treatment, while they return home each day, reflects Tampa General’s commitment to driving innovation to provide world-class care.”

One of Florida’s few cancer centers backed by academic medicine, the TGH Cancer Institute ranks among the nation’s top 50 cancer centers in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Hospitals. The Institute provides comprehensive care via groundbreaking therapies, advanced diagnostic imaging tools and a highly coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to world-class patient care. It is certified by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Accreditation. Newsweek has named Tampa General as one of America’s Best Cancer Hospitals and an America’s Best Specialized Hospital for the quality of its cancer, heart and vascular and orthopaedic institutes. For more information about the TGH Cancer Institute, visit www.tgh.org/cancer.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Hospitals, with two medical specialties ranking among the top 20 in the nation and eight medical specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2024 America’s Best Large Employers, the top 50 in Florida in the 2024 America’s Best Employers by State and the 2023 America’s Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2022, provided a net community benefit of approximately $240.3 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes TGH North, which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, two TGH Outpatient Centers, TGH Virtual Health, and 20 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.