Hugo R. Castro-Malaspina, MD

I am a board-certified hematologist and oncologist, and I am a member of a multidisciplinary team that cares for patients who are undergoing bone marrow transplantation. My particular expertise is using transplantation to treat patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) that has evolved from myelodysplastic syndromes. I am also interested in bone marrow failure syndromes including aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. In an effort to improve the outcomes of patients undergoing transplantation, I design and monitor clinical trials of newer transplantation approaches.

Physicians in Memorial Sloan Kettering’s allogeneic transplant program use stem cells or bone marrow derived from a donor other than the patient for the transplant. We often use T cell depletion — a technique to separate out specific immune cells called T lymphocytes from the stem cell product — to reduce one of the major complications of allogeneic transplants, graft-vs-host disease (GvHD). My clinical research has proven the effectiveness of T cell depleted allogeneic transplants in treating myelodysplastic syndrome; and has established which patients derive the most leukemia-fighting benefit from allogeneic transplants. I am leading a follow-up clinical trial for this disease, using lower doses of chemotherapy before transplantation and new drugs to reduce the risk of infection afterward.