Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist Salary in 2026: Children's Cancer Center and BMT Program Pay

Pediatric hematologist oncologists (peds hem-onc physicians) diagnose and treat blood disorders and cancers in patients from infancy through young adulthood — including pediatric leukemias (ALL, AML), lymphomas, solid tumors (Wilms tumor, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma), and hematologic conditions (sickle cell disease, hemophilia A/B, aplastic anemia, immune thrombocytopenia). Many also specialize in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for both malignant and non-malignant conditions. Pediatric hem-onc is one of the most emotionally demanding subspecialties in medicine — physicians routinely manage children with life-threatening diagnoses and support families through treatment, remission, relapse, and end-of-life care — but it is also one of the most scientifically dynamic fields in medicine, with cure rates for pediatric ALL now exceeding 90% and active clinical trials running at virtually every major children's hospital.

Training and Board Certification

The pathway is three years of pediatrics residency (ACGME-accredited) followed by three years of pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship (ACGME-accredited). Some programs offer combined three-year fellowships in pediatric hematology-oncology-BMT. American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) administers the subspecialty certification examination in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Stem cell transplant specialists may complete additional one-year BMT fellowship training, though many HSCT programs train within the standard three-year fellowship. Research training is integral to pediatric hem-onc fellowship — most programs include 1–1.5 years of protected laboratory or clinical research time as part of the three-year training, and the majority of fellowship graduates pursue academic positions with research as a core component. Pediatric hem-onc fellows who complete NIH T32 training grants, obtain K08 or K23 career development awards, or enter Children's Oncology Group (COG) clinical trial leadership roles have the strongest academic compensation trajectories.

Key CPT Codes and Revenue Model

• High-complexity E&M (99215, 99223–99233): Pediatric hem-onc outpatient and inpatient visits are virtually always at maximum complexity; complex MDM involving oncologic diagnosis, multi-drug chemotherapy regimens, treatment toxicity management, and family counseling routinely justifies 99215 outpatient and 99233 subsequent inpatient billing
• Chemotherapy infusion E&M add-ons (99211–99215 with 96413): Physician E&M supervision during chemotherapy infusion visits; the infusion center nurse administers chemotherapy (96413–96417) but the hem-onc physician bills a separate E&M for the oncologic medical decision-making portion of the visit
• Bone marrow procedures (38220–38230): Bone marrow aspiration (38220) and biopsy (38221) for diagnosis and disease monitoring; lumbar puncture with intrathecal chemotherapy (62270 with 96450); these procedural codes add meaningful revenue for pediatric hem-onc physicians who perform their own procedures rather than delegating to procedures services
• HSCT management (38240–38243): Hematopoietic stem cell transplant infusion services; the BMT physician bills for transplant-related services under complex hospital E&M codes (99221–99223 for admission, 99231–99233 for daily management) during the peri-transplant period, which often spans 4–6 weeks of continuous inpatient management
• Transfusion management: Pediatric hem-onc physicians supervise frequent packed red blood cell and platelet transfusions in their patients; transfusion E&M visits and telephone/portal contacts for transfusion management generate recurring billing volume in outpatient hem-onc clinics

Salary Ranges by Practice Setting

• Academic children's hospital (major pediatric cancer center): $280,000–$400,000; major free-standing children's hospitals (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Boston Children's, Texas Children's, Cincinnati Children's, Seattle Children's) are the primary employers of academic pediatric hem-onc physicians; St. Jude is a notable outlier with fully funded research positions and no clinical billing pressure — salaries are somewhat lower ($240,000–$330,000) but include extraordinary research infrastructure; other major children's hospitals pay AAMC benchmark salaries with RVU productivity expectations; PSLF-eligible
• Community children's hospital or regional pediatric cancer program: $340,000–$460,000; community pediatric hospitals and regional children's cancer centers (often affiliated with major COG centers) employ pediatric hem-onc physicians who do not have academic research obligations; these positions carry higher clinical volume expectations but no grant-writing or publication pressure, and typically pay above academic salaries to compensate for the difference; children's hospitals outside major academic networks often offer signing bonuses of $40,000–$80,000
• HSCT program director/transplant physician: $380,000–$500,000; dedicated BMT physicians who serve as transplant medical directors or primary attending physicians in active HSCT programs receive premium compensation reflecting the specialized expertise, call intensity (managing engraftment, graft-versus-host disease, infectious complications), and regulatory complexity (FACT accreditation requirements) of transplant programs
• VA medical centers with pediatric oncology contracts: Uncommon — VA primarily serves adults; however, some VA academic affiliates contract with nearby children's hospitals for pediatric oncology coverage at the affiliate site
• Global health/missionary pediatric oncology: $50,000–$100,000 + housing/benefits; organizations like CURE International and St. Jude's Global program deploy pediatric hem-onc physicians to resource-limited settings internationally; compensation is significantly lower but these positions fill an important global cancer care gap and attract physicians with a particular mission focus

The Funding Model That Shapes Pediatric Hem-Onc Salaries

Pediatric hem-onc is uniquely dependent on philanthropic and NIH research funding — much more than any other medical specialty. Major children's hospitals have billion-dollar philanthropic endowments (St. Jude's endowment exceeds $12 billion; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's exceeds $2 billion) that subsidize the cost of providing complex cancer care, conducting clinical research, and training the next generation of pediatric oncologists. This funding model partially explains why pediatric hem-onc salaries are lower than adult oncology even though the clinical work is comparably demanding: the revenue model relies on research grants and philanthropy rather than drug administration fees and chemotherapy infusion revenue, which drives adult oncology income. Pediatric hem-onc physicians who generate substantial NIH funding (R01 or equivalent) are often more financially valuable to their academic institution from a grant overhead recovery standpoint than from clinical RVU generation — a dynamic that protects protected research time and creates space for the academic productivity that attracts the next generation of clinical trials and philanthropic support.

What we see at Ava Health

Pediatric hematology-oncology is a specialty where the PSLF benefit has an outsized impact on candidate decision-making: the combination of average debt loads of $220,000–$300,000, PSLF eligibility at the vast majority of employers (children's hospitals are overwhelmingly nonprofit), and a relatively lower salary ceiling compared to adult oncology means that the net financial outcome of PSLF-track employment at a children's hospital is significantly better than its nominal salary suggests. We consistently advise candidates in this specialty to model the PSLF math explicitly before comparing offers, since a $310,000 salary at a children's hospital with PSLF eligibility can produce better net financial outcomes than a $380,000 salary at a for-profit community oncology practice where PSLF doesn't apply. The most active searches we work on are for regional children's cancer centers seeking to add a second or third pediatric hem-onc physician to support a growing COG clinical trial program — positions that offer meaningful research participation without a mandatory R01 grant requirement.

Related: Hematologist-Oncologist Salary Guide, Pediatrician Salary Guide, Pediatric Intensivist Salary Guide, Radiation Oncologist Salary Guide.