Marco Mielcarek, MD, PhD
Marco Mielcarek, MD, PhD
- Medical Director, Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, Fred Hutch
- Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine
- Professor, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
Medical Oncology
“Research is the backbone for improving patient care.”
— Dr. Mielcarek
What do you love about your job?
I arrived in Seattle in 1994 for a research fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. My plan was to stay for two years and then return to my home in Germany. As you can see, I’m still here. I learned a lot during my fellowship — it was a good collaboration — but I didn’t want the kind of career where I was restricted to the lab. I wanted the privilege of taking care of patients, too. So I decided to stay in the U.S. to pursue those two passions. At Fred Hutch, I get the best of both worlds — working closely with patients and conducting research to make treatment for blood cancers more tolerable.
How do you care for patients?
I believe there are two key ingredients to providing excellent care. The first is tailoring treatment according to your needs and philosophy. An approach that is a good fit for someone else may not be ideal for you, and I never want to make assumptions about what you prefer. The second ingredient is incorporating up-to-date research so that you’re receiving the very best treatment that medicine has to offer, which can sometimes be clinical trials. Participating in trials helps us increase our understanding of diseases and achieve better cure rates.
Provider Background
Specialty: Medical Oncology
Area of clinical practice
Adult Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Blood cancers
I am a board-certified oncologist with more than 20 years of experience caring for patients who receive stem cell transplants for blood cancers. I also serve as medical director of Fred Hutch’s Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. My research is aimed at the prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) — a potentially dangerous complication that can develop post-transplant where immune system cells attack healthy tissues and organs. For example, one study I led found that patients with GVHD could be effectively treated with lower doses of prednisone (a steroid that can have negative side effects) than most physicians had been using. Currently, my colleagues and I are testing whether treating stem cell donors with statins (drugs widely used to lower cholesterol) can prevent GVHD in transplant recipients.
Diseases Treated
Graft Versus Host Diseas
Languages
English
German
Education, experience and certifications
Medical Degree
Freie Universität, Berlin
Residency
Freie Universität Berlin, Internal Medicine; University of Washington, Internal Medicine
Fellowship
University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Medical Oncology
Board Certification
Medical Oncology, 2003, 2013, American Board of Internal Medicine
Other
PhD, Freie Universität Berlin
Your Care Team
At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes doctors, a patient care coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like nutritionists, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders.
Insurance
Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.
For the Media
The Media Relations team at Fred Hutch is available to assist members of the news media who would like to arrange interviews with providers.
Email media@fredhutch.org or call 206.667.2210