Yener Koc, MD - Professor, Hematology - Oncology
Stem Cell Transplant Training
Professor Dr. Yener Koc graduated from Hacettepe University School of Medicine in 1985. He had his internal medicine residency training at the same University.
Dr. Koc completed Hematology-Oncology training at Boston University Medical Center in the United States between 1992-1996. Between 1992 and 1994, he worked as research fellow and faculty member at the Evans Memorial Department at Boston University Medical Center.
Dr. Koc completed Bone Marrow Transplant training between 1996-1999 at New England Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, in the United States.
Before his return to Turkey, Dr. Koc worked as Instructor at the Bone Marrow transplant Unit at Tufts University in 1997-1999.
Professor Dr. Yener Koc graduated from Hacettepe University School of Medicine in 1985. He had his internal medicine residency training at the same University.
Dr. Koc completed Hematology-Oncology training at Boston University Medical Center in the United States between 1992-1996. Between 1992 and 1994, he worked as research fellow and faculty member at the Evans Memorial Department at Boston University Medical Center.
Dr. Koc completed Bone Marrow Transplant training between 1996-1999 at New England Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, in the United States.
Before his return to Turkey, Dr. Koc worked as Instructor at the Bone Marrow transplant Unit at Tufts University in 1997-1999.
Achievements & Services in Stem Cell Transplantation
In 1995 and 1996, Dr. Koc was given Outstanding Physician Award, twice at Boston University. In 1997, he was also awarded by Tufts University and United States Government by receiving O-1 visa given for outstanding performance in medical science including new drug development in leukemia and lymphoma. He was also given Certification of Contribution to Science in 1997, pesented by Prof. Dr. Kanti Rai in Florida, USA. Professor Koc has been listed in Who's Who in Medicine, Science and Engineering between 2008 and 2017.
After his return to Turkey, Dr. Koc established Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Institute of Oncology in Hacettepe University School of Medicine. He worked as the attending Physician at the Transplant Unit between 2000-2005. He performed 197 transplants at Hacettepe University, accredited by European Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (EBMT). 5 year survival and cure rates of 69% for allogeneic transplants and 78% for autologous transplants were obtained between 2000 and 2005. In patients with myeloma, 5 year survival rate of 81 % was obtained with tandem autologous and allogeneic transplants during this period.
In 2005, Dr. Koc had joined Yeditepe University School of Medicine as the Director of Hematology-Oncology Section and established a comprehensive Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. He worked as the Chairman of Department of Internal Medicine in 2006. Dr. Koc completed 105 autologous and allogeneic transplant at the EBMT accredited transplant center with low transplant mortality rates (6% for allogeneic transplants and 1.7 % for autologous transplants at day +100) with remarkable survival rates (79% for allogeneic transplant and 81 % for autologous transplants at 2 year) between 2005 and 2008. Dr. Koc has also served as director of Gene Therapy Group and member of Infection Control Committee at Yeditepe University School of Medicine during this period.
In 2007, Dr. Koc was awarded as the International Healthcare Professional of the Year for by International Biographical Institute in Cambridge, England, for his studious work in the area of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
In 2008, Dr. Koc worked at Antalya Medical Park Hospital and performed 756 transplants between 2008 and 2019 and moved his team to Medicana International in 2020 to perform autologous, allogeneic, unrelated, cord-blood and haploidentical transplants, with a cumulative experience of 2172 transplants as of May 2022.
As of May 2022, Dr. Koc has 312 scientific publications in hematology-oncology and stem cell transplantation with 4744 citations leading to an ''h index'' of 35 as of 24 June 2024.
Current Status
In 2020 Professor Koc moved to MEDICANA INTERNATIONAL - Istanbul and established a 21 bed state of art Bone Marrow Transplant Center, creating a Transplant Team consisting of 34 members, including coordinators, data managers, biologists, clinical pharmacist, nurse practitioners specifically trained in stem cell transplantation including Immunology and HLA Tissue Typing Laboratory. The team has been accredited by European Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (EBMT, CIC-919) and International Transplant Registry in the United States (CIBMTR 11080).
Dr. Koc is an active JACIE Accreditation Inspector for European Bone Marrow Transplant Centers since 2004.
Survival and Cure rates after Transplant
Current long-term survival rates at this transplant center are 66% at 8 years for allogeneic transplant patients treated for myeloma, 68% for sibling and unrelated allogeneic transplants performed for patients with leukemia, and 75% for haploidentical transplants for patients treated for leukemia in first remission, MDS and Hodgkin's lymphoma, 80% and 90% cure rates for thalassemia and aplastic anemia. Mortality rate for allogeneic transplant is 6-9% for leukemia patients in first remission, and 0.5-1.7% for myeloma and lymphoma patients undergoing autologous transplant.
