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October
1, 2003 |
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Top
Stories |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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Clinical
Research |
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Pharmaceutical
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Association
News |
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Calendar |
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eNews
Archives |
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Tandem BMT Meetings
Feb 13 - 17, 2004
Orlando, Florida
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(Note: Answers to this interactive poll are anonymous.) |
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Last Month's
Poll Results
If ASBMT provided you with contact information and
suggested talking points, would you be willing to write to
your representative or senators at a key moment when “HR
2852 - National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network” is
working its way through committee?
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Yes, this is an important bill, and I'm more than
happy to help get it through Congress. |
(173) 33% |
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No, I'm
sympathetic to this bill, but you know me: I'll
probably not get around to doing anything about it. |
(247) 47% |
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No,
personally I would rather not support this bill. |
(105) 20% |
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Calendar |
• October
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT)
(with the International Society for Cellular Therapy)
3rd Annual Meeting on Mesenchymal and Nonhematopoietic Stem
Cells
Oct. 19-21
Hotel Monteleone
New Orleans, Louisiana
American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI)
29th Annual Meeting
Oct. 28-Nov. 1
Fontainebleau Hilton
Miami Beach, Florida
• November
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
56th Annual Meeting
Nov. 1-4
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
53rd Annual Meeting
Nov. 4-8
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, California
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
16th Annual Council Meeting
Nov. 14-16
Hilton Minneapolis Hotel
Minneapolis, Minnesota
European Society for Gene Therapy (ESGT)
11th Annual Meeting
Nov. 14-17
Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Edinburgh, Scotland
• December
American Society of Hematology (ASH)
45th Annual Meeting
Dec. 6-9
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
43rd Annual Meeting
Dec. 13-17
Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, California
2004
• January
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
8th Annual Winter Symposium
Jan. 15-18
Westin Kierland Resort
Scottsdale, Arizona
• February
6th International Congress on New Trends in Immunosuppression
Feb. 5-8
Salzburg Congress Centre
Salzburg, Austria
2004 Tandem BMT Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and IBMTR/ABMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 13-17
Coronado Springs Resort
Orlando, Florida
• March
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
95th Annual Meeting
March 27-31
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
30th Annual Meeting
March 28 - 31
Palau de Congressos de Catalunya
Barcelona, Spain
• April
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPH/O)
17th Annual Scientific Meeting
April 29-May 2
Westin St. Francis Hotel
San Francisco, California
• May
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
10th Annual Meeting
May 7-10
Dublin, Ireland
World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA)
5th International Donor Registry Conference
May 26-29
Keio University Mita Campus
Tokyo, Japan
2005
2005 Tandem BMT Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and IBMTR/ABMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 10-14
Keystone Resort
Keystone, Colorado
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Top
Stories |
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Radiation therapy increases risk of
long-term side effects in children with acute lymphoblastic
leukemia
Children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
whose treatment includes radiation therapy to the brain are more
likely to experience long-term side effects, including
developing a second cancer, according to an article in the Aug.
14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studied
856 patients who had survived at least 10 years after treatment
for ALL; 21 percent of patients who received radiation therapy
developed a second cancer, compared to just 1 percent in
patients not receiving radiation.  |
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Grants awarded to fund three Exploratory
Centers for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has
awarded three-year grants to fund three Exploratory Centers for
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research to: the University of
Washington, Seattle/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center;
University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor; and WiCell
Research Institute in Madison, Wis. The grants total $2.2
million in the first year and are expected to have a total
benefit of $6.3 million.
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Malaysian doctors use autologous bone marrow
stem cells to treat heart condition
Surgeons from Malaysia’s National Heart Institute and the
Kuala Lumpur Hospital injected a 60-year-old man’s heart with
autologous bone marrow stem cells to help him grow new vessels.
Malaysia joins just a few countries using stem cells to treat
heart conditions.
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Israeli government awards grant to further
stem cell research
The Israeli government has issued a grant of $15 million to
$20 million to the Israel Stem Cell Therapy Consortium, which
was created to coordinate the efforts of local companies,
scientists and hospital research centers. The grant will be paid
out over the next several years.
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Cloned cells show promise in treating Parkinson’s disease
Stem cells taken from cloned embryos relieved the symptoms
of artificially induced Parkinson’s disease in mice, according
to a report in the online version of the journal Nature
Biotechnology. After these cells were directed to become
dopamine-producing cells, they were transplanted into the brains
of mice. Their symptoms improved.
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Word from President Joseph Antin, M.D.
This month, my message comes with a Pre-Test and a
Post-Test.
Q. Ten years ago this past month, ASBMT was founded... [choose one]
a. by a contingent of physicians who broke away from a
larger organization
b. from scratch by an ad hoc committee that simply decided
to do it
c. with seed money provided through a generous foundation
grant
The Society was chartered on Sept. 7, 1993. To commemorate
the 10th anniversary, a re-enactment of sorts took place
last month at the very place where an ad hoc committee
decided to create the organization.
In was in 1993 that Dick Champlin called together about a
dozen people who met at a hotel in suburban Chicago. There
they decided an organization was needed to address
challenges specific to blood and marrow transplantation:
challenges like the promotion of collaborative research,
the need for a national meeting dedicated to the interests
of transplant investigators and clinicians, coping with
regulatory issues from third-party insurers and the FDA,
and the need for a scientific journal committed to
excellence in reporting transplantation clinical and basic
science.
To celebrate that seminal event, most of the participants
returned last month to the same hotel for a reunion. We
reviewed the development of the Society over the past
decade, and it is fair to say that there was a good deal
of pride within the group. Our national meeting is
top-notch, the Journal is excellent and still getting
better with each issue, and, through FACT, we have
established far-above-minimal standards for
transplantation centers.
The challenge for the next decade will be to further
solidify our position as a premier transplantation
society. This will be done in part by learning how to
integrate developments in stem cell biology, small
molecules, monoclonals and specific cellular therapies
into the management of our patients. A substantial concern
is how we can use our expertise to contribute to the
growing interest in applying stem cells to non-hematopoietic
organs.
The next 10 years should be an exciting time for our
patients, for us, and for our Society.
– Joe
P.S. The answer to the Pre-Test of course is
“b.” The ad hoc committee wasn’t spun off from any other
organization and certainly had no foundation grant. Quite
the opposite. With no bank account, the founders had to
round up $1,000 donations from transplant centers to begin
operations.
Your Post-Test is in the column to the left of this
message. |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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California governor signs bills to advance human stem cell
research
Gov. Gray Davis of California signed two bills, one to start
a process to establish ethical and legal standards to govern
stem cell research and a second to establish a registry of
anonymous embryos available to scientists for research. The bill
signing ceremony was held at the cancer center of the medical
school at the University of California-Davis.
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Clinical
Research |
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Unfertilized eggs could prove a source of stem cells
After two years of growth and development, stem cells
derived from the unfertilized eggs of monkeys look and act like
those derived from embryos, according to research by scientists
at Wake Forest University that was published in the proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, these cells
were able to become a variety of other cell types when properly
treated, including heart muscle cells and nerve cells.
Rabbit eggs used to produce human stem cells
Scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University have
fused human skin cells with rabbit eggs to produce early stage
embryos, which then yielded stem cells, according to an article
in the August issue of the journal Cell Research. The
research is controversial because the embryos produced were
clones of the human donors.
Sperm cells produced from embryonic stem
cells
Japanese scientists have discovered a way to produce sperm
cells from embryonic stem cells, according to research published
in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Science. Scientists incubated stem cells with other cells
that produce a protein called BMP4, and some of the stem cells
began developing into sperm cells within one day.
Modified neuronal progenitor cells may help
treat Parkinson’s disease
Neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) modified to carry the von
Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene may prove an effective
treatment for Parkinson’s disease, according to a study
published in the September issue of the Annals of Neurology.
Japanese scientists studying rats report that while only 4.2
percent of regular NPCs became mature neurons, about 42 percent
of the altered NPCs were the mature type.
Two studies of inner ear stem cells may help
treat hearing loss
By introducing new genes into the nuclei of stem cells in
the inner ears of embryonic chickens, researchers at Purdue
University have been able to control the development of cell
types, a discovery that may one day lead to new treatments for
deafness and vertigo in people. This study appears in the
journal Developmental Biology; related research in the
October issue of the journal Nature Medicine details the
discovery of a new population of stem cells in the inner ear of
mice.
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Pharmaceutical
News |
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Genzyme completes acquisition of SangStat Medical
In mid-September, Genzyme Corp. completed its $600 million
acquisition of SangStat Medical Corp. SangStat’s Thymoglobulin
(anti-thymocyte globulin) is used to treat acute rejection in
renal transplant patients. SangStat’s shares were delisted from
Nasdaq and ceased trading at the close of the day Sept. 12.
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Association
News |
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Abstract and early registration for 2004 Tandem BMT
Meetings
October 20 is the deadline for early registration and for
online submission of abstracts for the 2004 Tandem BMT Meetings
that will be held Feb. 13-17 at the Coronado Springs Resort in
Orlando. Registration fees and housing accommodations are at the
lowest rates in several years.
40 travel grants available for 2004 Tandem BMT Meetings
The ASBMT Executive Committee has announced 40 travel grants of
$1,000 each for young investigators (not more than five years in
the BMT field) submitting abstracts to the 2004 Tandem BMT
Meetings next February.
Position statement on BMT for multiple myeloma
An ASBMT Position Statement on the role of cytotoxic therapy
with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of
multiple myeloma appears in the September issue of Biology of
Blood and Marrow Transplantation. The statement is based on
an evidence-based review published this past January.
New investigator awards: Deadline Dec. 1
ASBMT and ESP Pharma have announced the launch of a new award
for young investigators in stem cell transplantation. At the
same time, the Society and Fujisawa Healthcare have introduced
the latest in a five-year series of new investigator awards.
3rd Nonhematopoietic & Mesenchymal Stem Cell Conference set
for Oct. 9-11
Mesenchymal stem cell biology, stem cell plasticity and cell
therapy for cardiac, pulmonary and neurologic diseases will be
addressed in the 3rd Annual Nonhematopoietic & Mesenchymal Stem
Cells Meeting, to be held Oct. 9-11 at the Hotel Monteleone in
New Orleans. ASBMT is a co-sponsor.
Free ASBMT membership for trainees
Post-doctoral fellows and physicians-in-training for blood and
marrow transplantation are eligible for free membership in the
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Through
the month of October, the 2004 dues will be waived for trainees
who apply for membership in the Society.
When prevention is not enough
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and other infectious
complications are revisited in the current issue of Blood and
Marrow Transplantation Reviews. Offering Category 1 CME
credit, the issue is based on the symposium “Advances in the
Diagnosis and Management of PCP and Other Opportunistic
Infections Following Stem Cell Transplantation,” presented at
the 2003 Tandem BMT Meetings.
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