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March 1, 2005 |
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Top
Stories |
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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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Job &
Fellowship Connections |
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Monthly Journal |
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eNews
Archives |
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BMT Tandem
Meetings
Feb. 16-20, 2006
Honolulu, Hawaii |
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Calendar |
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• March
Inaugural Joint American-Israeli Conference on Cancer
University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
March 16-18
Inbal Jerusalem Hotel
Jerusalem, Israel
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
and Canadian Society of Transplantation (CST)
9th Annual Winter Symposium
March 16-20
Fairmont Banff Springs
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Eighth Cooley’s Anemia
Symposium
New York Academy of Sciences and Cooley’s Anemia Foundation
March 17-19
Hilton at Walt Disney World Resort
Orlando, Florida
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
31st Annual Meeting
March 20–23
Prague Congress Centre
Prague, Czech Republic
• April
Preservation of Cells, Tissues, and Gametes
Short Course
April 6-8
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
10th International Myeloma Workshop
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
April 10-14
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
Sydney, Australia
National Bone Marrow
Transplant Link (nbmtLINK)
“Ask the Experts” BMT Educational Forum
April 16
Livonia Civic Center Library
Livonia, Michigan
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
96th Annual Meeting
April 16-20
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, California
American Society for Apheresis
26th Annual Meeting
April 27-30
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
• May
Current Good Tissue Practice
Workshop preceding annual meeting of the International Society
for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
May 3-4
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center
Vancouver, British Columbia
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
11th Annual Meeting
May 4-7
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center
Vancouver, British Columbia
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
5th Annual Conference
May 12-16
Westin Copley Place
Boston, Massachusetts
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPH/O)
18th Annual Meeting
May 14-16
Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel
Washington, D.C.
American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
41st Annual Meeting
May 14-17
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
American Transplant Congress
May 20-25
Washington State Convention & Trade Center
Seattle, Washington
National Bone Marrow
Transplant Link (nbmtLINK),
with support from ASBMT
“Ask the Experts” BMT Educational Forum
May 21
Lighthouse International Conference Center
New York, New York
• June
3rd Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant
Symposium
California Blood Bank Society (CBBS), with the National Marrow
Donor Program (NMDP)
June 3-4
Hilton Los Angeles Airport
Los Angeles, California
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
3rd Annual Meeting
June 23-25
San Francisco Marriott
San Francisco, California
2006
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 15-19
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
2007
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 8-12
Keystone Conference Center
Keystone, Colorado
2008
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 13-17
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, CA
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Top
Stories |
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Two lawsuits filed to stop California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine
Two lawsuits have been filed, seeking to invalidate the $3
billion stem cell research funding institution California voters
approved in November. One
lawsuit alleges that the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine violates California law because it is not governed
exclusively by the state
government, while the second lawsuit alleges that provisions in
Proposition 71 exempting members of the institute from some
conflict-of-interest laws
are illegal.  |
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Soft tissue implants grown from adult stem
cells
Scientists with the University of Illinois in Chicago have
developed a technique to grow sections of natural tissue using
adult stem cells. Researchers treated stem cells taken from bone
marrow, then placed them in molds and inserted them under the
skin of mice, where the molds degenerated but the tissue
retained its shape and dimensions. |
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Genetic mutation linked to less invasive breast cancer
Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene have been linked to
ductal carcinoma in situ, according to a report published in the
Feb. 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association. This study of 369 women found that mutation
rates were 0.8 percent for BRCA1 and 2.4 percent for
BRCA2.
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Spain approves research projects using human
embryonic stem cells
The Spanish government has approved four research projects
using human embryonic stem cells. The projects involve creating
insulin-secreting
pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes, finding a cure for
Parkinson's, and fine-tuning techniques used to transform stem
cells into other kinds of cells and tissue. |
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Word from President Nelson Chao, M.D.
“Cutting edge stem cell research could pave the way to
a bold new era in medicine, providing cell-based
treatments -- perhaps even cures -- for
scores of diseases and illnesses. Stem cells are the clay
of life waiting for the cellular signal that will coax
them into taking on the shape of the beating
muscle cells of the heart, insulin-producing cells of the
pancreas, or message-carrying cells of the central nervous
system. Manipulate them in the right
way, turn them into the right type of cell, and it’s
possible that stem cells could be used to counter (or
cure) diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes, heart
disease, autoimmune disorders -- even infertility or
baldness!”
The words are those of Ann Parson, a science journalist
who has written a new book titled The Proteus Effect.
Proteus was a Greek god of the sea, protector of all
waters, who could change his shape at will.
Part detective story, part medical history, Parson’s tale
is one of early scientific discoveries that date back as
far as 1740, recent advances of
pioneers such as James Till, Ernest McCullough, Don Thomas
and George Santos, and the incredible events leading to
the discovery of stem cells in animal tumors, in the blood
of mice, in the brains of canaries, in human embryos and
in skin, liver and other human organs. It’s written for
lay
comprehension and illustrates the seamless relationship
between what we do in hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation and the promise of cellular
therapy and regenerative medicine.
Although not explicitly stated, a hard-to-escape
conclusion is that our field of stem cell transplant has
an enormous privilege and obligation to teach what we know
to the rest of the medical field. We are the group of
health professions with the most clinical and laboratory
experience, understanding and comfort with the biology of
stem cells, their developmental hierarchy and their
characteristics for differentiation and homing. We have
the longest history of applying stem, progenitor and even
mature cells to a diverse array of medical disorders. We
have the history of taking care of sick patients whose
improvement and cure rests in cellular therapies.
There is every reason for us to be heavily involved as
cellular research and clinical trials move forward – in
the design of the trials, in the processing of cells and
in the collection of data for further studies. Laid across
our depth of clinical and laboratory experience is a
tradition through the CIBMTR to aggregate small trials
into a central data repository. More recently we’ve shown
our eagerness to collaborate in multi-center studies
through the BMT-CTN clinical trails network.
Parson concludes that “Whatever research nook one looks
into, there is a very real sense that cell-based medicine
isn’t too good to be true, rather
that it’s too true from a biological standpoint not to be
good medically, and that given time, supportive laws,
funding, knowledge, patience and more time, healing the
body with its own cells will be the norm.”
I don’t know about you, but this place and time in
medicine is exactly where I want to be.
– Nelson |
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Clinical
Research |
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Gene improves results in using stem cells to treat spinal
injury
Adding a special gene, neurogenin-2, to stem cells before
transplanting them into the damaged spinal cord of rats helps
control pain while improving motor function. According to an
article to be published in the March issue of the journal
Nature Neuroscience, neurogenin-2 inhibits the development
of astrocytes, which corresponds to the lack of growth of pain
axons.
Double dose of growth factor creates favorable environment
for colon cancer
Mice with a double dose of growth factor 2 (IGF2) develop
more cancer precursor cells in the lining of the colon than do
normal mice, according to a study published in the online
version of the journal Science. While the extra growth
factor does not cause cancer directly, it creates an environment
ripe for the disease. About 10 percent of people also have this
double protein dose.
Green tea extract may prevent bladder cancer from spreading
By activating a protein known as Rho, green tea extract may
prevent early bladder cancer from spreading through the body.
Rho helps regulate actin’s organization in cells and has been
implicated in tumor development and progression. According to a
study in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer
Research, investigators at the University of California Los
Angeles exposed human bladder cells to a cancer-causing agent
and green tea extract, and the extract interfered with
remodeling of actin.
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Pharmaceutical News |
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Serologicals buys Specialty media firm
To tap into the growing interest in stem cells, Serologicals
Corp. has purchased the cell culture business Specialty Media
from Sentigen Holding Corp. Specialty Media develops and
supplies a variety of specialty stem cell culture media
formulations and supplements, cells and research reagent tools
to the life sciences industry.
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Association
News |
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Nelson Chao installed as ASBMT president
Nelson Chao, M.D., professor of medicine and immunology and
director of the bone marrow transplant program at Duke
University Medical Center, has been installed as ASBMT
president. Robert Soiffer, M.D., of Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, is the newly elected vice president, to become
president in 2007.
2005 RFI forms familiar to past users
The update of the ASBMT Standardized Request for Information
(RFI) forms, released on Feb. 1, should be familiar to most
users of previous versions. The changes are few, and in most
instances help to clarify or simplify the forms. The interactive
forms are available online.
BBMT looks at race as a factor in transplant survival
The effects of race or ethnicity on survival after stem cell
transplantation are explored in an article by Marco Mielcarek,
M.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
in this month’s issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow
Transplantation.
Record attendance at Tandem BMT Meetings
Registration for the 2005 Tandem BMT Meetings in Keystone,
Colorado, was a record 1,617. Attendees came from 38 countries.
Audiocassettes available for Keystone presentations
Plenary and concurrent scientific sessions, workshops and
oral abstracts from the 2005 Tandem BMT Meetings are available
on audiocassette -- along with the recorded conferences of the
transplant nurses, BMT pharmacists, clinical research associates
and BMT center administrators. The programs can be purchased
online.
Tandem BMT Meetings abstracts can be viewed online
Abstracts submitted by investigators in 33 countries were
presented at the Tandem BMT Meetings in Keystone. All abstracts
are published in the February 2005 issue of Biology of Blood
and Marrow Transplantation (Vol. 11, No. 2, Supplement 1)
and also are posted online.
Annual meeting has first ‘Education Book’
The first-ever education book was published for this year’s
Tandem BMT Meetings. Each of the plenary session speakers was
invited to submit an article based on his or her presentation
topic. Included are articles on regenerative medicine, leukemia
stem cells, GvHD and histocompatibilty, autologous transplant
innovations, and allotransplants and immune reconstitution. Each
meeting attendee received the education book with registration
materials. It also is a supplement that accompanies the February
2005 issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
(Vol. 11, No. 2, Supplement 2).
Order photos from Welcome Reception and President’s Dinner
Photos from the “Aloha 2006!” Welcome Reception and at the
ASBMT President’s Dinner in Keystone can be viewed and purchased
online.
Free ASBMT membership for trainees
Post-doctoral fellows and physicians-in-training for blood
and marrow transplantation are eligible for free ASBMT
membership. The annual dues are being waived for trainees who
apply for membership in the Society, a program made possible by
a grant from ESP Pharma.
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