Our department was created in 1959 as part of Radiation Biology Research Center of Hiroshima University. Since its establishment, our chief mission has been to provide the best quality care for patients with hematologic and immunologic diseases in outpatient and inpatient services at Hiroshima University Hospital. We are very proud to be responsible for expert diagnosis and treatment for hematologic malignancies such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, in addition to non-neoplastic hematological disorders such as aplastic anemia, benign cytopenia and coagulation disorders. Always on the cutting-edge scientific/medical knowledge, we offer an individualized treatment program for patients with hematologic disorders based on morphologic, immunologic, cytogenetic, and molecular analyses done by our own and collaborative laboratories. With the help of clinical development of new molecular-targeted agents and novel protocols for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, long-term survival rates of patients with those intractable hematologic disorders have markedly improved over the last decade.

Our laboratory interest has been dedicated to researches aiming at developing innovative, patient-friendly, and less toxic treatment for various types of hematologic disorders. Currently, we are going to launch a translational/clinical research program incorporating tumor-targeted and/or regenerative cellular therapy through enhancing the role of hematopoietic cell transplantation as a platform.

1. Development of ultra-high-resolution monitoring of human immune system and its application to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation using unbiased deep sequencing of antigen-specifc T-cell and B-cell receptors.
The human adaptive immune system is theoretically composed of more than a billion of diverse T-cell and B-cell repertoires. In this research program, we aim to develop a new technology capable of comprehensively and quantitatively identifying a broad array of individual T-cell and B-cell clones by use of high-throughput deep sequencing of genes that encode antigen-specific T- and B-cell receptors. Clinical studies are ongoing to obtain a better understanding of immune reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation with the help of this novel technology.

2. Clinical development of novel agents for hematologic neoplasms and bleeding/thrombotic disorders.
Although the long-term outlook of neoplastic and non-neoplastic hematologic diseases is improving year by year, there are still many groups of disorders for which the effect of available treatment is uncertain or unsatisfactory. To constantly innovate the practices in clinical hematology, we are performing global and in-house clinical trials that look at the safety and efficacy of novel agents/protocols designed for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and bleeding/thrombotic disorders.
    
3. Comprehensive research for improving quality of life in patients with hematologic malignancies.
Impaired quality of life due to treatment-related complications or pre-existing comorbidities is a serious emerging problem in patients with hematologic malignancies. The aim of this project is to develop comprehensive clinical tools that would be useful for the improvement of quality of life in patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy or hematopoietic cell transplantation for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

In 2016, we provided care for a total of 1922 outpatients and 419 inpatients. The number of new patients with hematologic neoplasms is as follows:

 Acute leukemia: 24
 Myeloproliferative neoplasms: 26
 Myelodysplastic syndrome: 22
 Malignant lymphomas: 140
 Plasma cell myeloma: 32