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June 1, 2006 |
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Top
Stories |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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Clinical
Research |
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Pharmaceutical News |
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Association
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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. 8-12, 2007
Keystone, Colorado |
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Calendar |
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• June
Innate Immunity for the Mucosal Immune System
Society for Mucosal Immunity (SMI)
June 1
San Francisco Marriott
San Francisco, California
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
6th Annual Conference
June 1-5
San Francisco Marriott
San Francisco, California
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
42nd Annual Meeting
June 3-6
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference
University of Nebraska Medical Center
June 11-15
Grand Wailea Resort
Maui, Hawaii
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
4th Annual Meetings
June 29-July 1
Metro Toronto Convention Center
Toronto, Ontario
• July
World Transplant Congress 2006
American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)
and the American Society of Transplantation (AST)
July 22-27
Hynes Convention Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Society for Cryobiology
Cryo 2006: 43rd Meeting
July 24-27
Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
Hamburg, Germany
• August
International Society of Hematology (ISH)
31st World Congress
Aug. 9-12
Puerto Rico Convention Center
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Back to the Science of Stem Cell Research
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Aug. 14-16
Marriott Boston Long Wharf
Boston, Massachusetts
Cytokines 2006: Molecular Biology & Human Diseases
International Cytokine Society (ICS)
Aug. 27-31
Hilton Stadtpark
Vienna, Austria
• September
Targeted and Tailored Therapies in Hematology/Oncology
Loyola University Chicago Cardinal Bernardine Cancer Center
Sept. 9
Swissotel
Chicago, Illinois
Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development:
Maximizing Opportunities for Treatment
American Society for Cancer Research (ASCR)
Sept. 12-15
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Myeloproliferative Disorders: Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapy
European School of Haematology
Sept. 14-16
Grand Savoy Hotel
Madeira, Portugal
German Society for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology (DGTI)
in collaboration with the International Society for Cellular
Therapy-Europe (ISCT-Europe)
39th Annual Congress
Sept. 19-22
Congress Centre Messe
Frankfurt, Germany
American Society of Multicultural Health and Transplant
Professionals (ASMHTP)
14th Annual Conference
Sept. 22-24
Hyatt Regency
Dearborn, Michigan
6th Annual Somatic Cell Therapy Symposium
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
with AABB and the FDA
Sept. 25-27
Bethesda, Maryland
International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH)
35th Annual Scientific Meeting
Sept. 27-30
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota
10th Biennial National Symposium on Hematopoietic Cell
Transplantation
Stanford University School of Medicine
Sept. 28-30
Fairchild Auditorium
Stanford, California
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, California
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Top
Stories |
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California university generating five new
stem cell lines
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, are
generating five new stem cell lines to be used in research and
treatment for such ailments as spinal cord injury, diabetes,
cancer and Parkinson’s disease. The lines will be developed
using excess embryos donated by couples undergoing fertility
treatment and will be available for free to scientists
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Studies seek link between estrogen, lung cancer
Two studies are investigating whether estrogen influences
lung cancer, based on steady death rates among women with lung
cancer and the fact that women tend to survive lung cancer
better than men. One study is investigating whether estrogen
acts as a fuel for lung tumors, and a second study is testing
whether the drug Xyotax needs estrogen to work.
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Location of cardiac stem cells identified
Researchers have discovered the location of cardiac stem
cells, which appear to cluster together with more mature “nurse”
cells in niches between cardiac muscle cells. According to a
report published in the advance online edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these cells
have been removed from people undergoing heart operations, grown
in the laboratory, and then transplanted into the damaged hearts
of rats and mice.
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More follow-up needed after positive colon cancer screening
More than 40 percent of patients with a positive result on a
fecal occult blood test do not receive appropriate follow-up
tests such as a colonoscopy or barium enema, according to a
study published in the May issue of the journal Diseases of
the Colon & Rectum. This review of nearly 40,000 patient
records also found long delays between positive screens and
follow-up diagnostic tests: an average 120 days for barium enema
and 250 days for colonoscopy.
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Word from President
Robert Negrin, MD
Suppose we had a single information source we could turn
to for nearly anything we needed to know about our
collective experience with hematopoietic cell transplants.
What would this resource look like?
• It would have data on more than 200,000 blood and marrow
transplant patients, collected over the past 30 years.
• It would maintain a record of all consecutive procedures
at the reporting transplant centers, and on-site audits
would verify compliance and the accuracy of reported data.
• It would have methodologies to assign severity and risk
to patient cohorts so that they could be effectively
compared.
• It would conduct ongoing studies with the collected data
to identify trends and factors that determine or influence
therapeutic outcomes. The studies would identify best
practices for dissemination throughout the BMT community.
• It would publish its findings so that process
improvements could be applied by any transplant center.
• It would be international in scope so that outcomes in
North America can be compared and contrasted with those in
other countries where techniques and health care systems
may be different.
• It would be sensitive to our needs to standardize and
streamline data collection, knowing well the time limits
to which transplant center personnel already are
stretched.
• It would develop electronic transfer of information to
achieve even greater efficiencies in data collection.
• It would be managed and staffed by people from within
the BMT community who understand the information needs of
those providing clinical care.
• Its staff would be highly motivated and dedicated, ready
to help with any information and analyses we need.
I’m sure you recognize that this resource already is at
hand. The point is, if the Center for International Blood
and Marrow Transplant Research didn’t exist, we would have
to invent it.
Our ability to advance our therapies would be severely
handicapped without the contributions of our colleagues at
the CIBMTR in Milwaukee. I can hardly imagine the amount
of dollars, expertise and years of development we’d be
willing to invest to create this resource if it were not
already here and fully available to us. As we move toward
comprehensive reporting of outcomes, the CIBMTR will be
indispensable and, hopefully, central to that process.
– Rob |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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Senate leader plans to reopen embryonic stem cell debate
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to open debate this
summer on HR 810, a bill that would expand federal funding for
human embryonic stem cell research. The bill, which was approved
by the House last year, would allow federal funding for research
using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for
fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients.
Stem cell research bill introduced to Senate
A bill has been introduced to the Senate requiring the
National Institutes of Health to research and fund methods of
creating embryonic stem cell lines without destroying human
embryos. The bill would authorize funding from FY2007 to FY2009,
and it contains a rule that the measure would not affect any
regulations regarding embryonic stem cells, human cloning or any
other research methods currently prohibited.
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Clinical Research |
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Stem cell injections improve stress urinary incontinence
Women with stress urinary incontinence treated using
injections of their muscle-derived stem cells reported
improvement in bladder control and quality of life. According to
research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American
Urological Association, these findings will be used to support a
multi-site clinical trial to begin in the summer of 2006.
Fewer, more concentrated radiotherapy doses effective
Ten years of monitoring indicates that giving 13 larger
doses of radiotherapy rather than the more traditional 25 doses
works as well, without increasing side effects. According to a
study published in the June issue of the journal The Lancet
Oncology, the shorter course could be simpler and more
convenient for patients while cutting treatment costs.
Platinum molecules may inhibit cancer
Using small molecules containing platinum, scientists have
created a process to inhibit a class of proteins important in
cancer and HIV. According to a report published in the May 30
issue of the journal Chemistry & Biology, this zinc
finger protein can be inhibited when exposed to a platinum
complex, ejecting the zinc portion of the molecule from the
protein chain.
Combining Tarceva and Celebrex improves lung cancer response
Combining Tarceva with the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex
increased response rates among patients with lung cancer by
about three-fold, according to a study published in the June 1
issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. Scientists
believe that giving Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor, may help
overcome resistance to drugs like Tarceva.
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Pharmaceutical News |
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Cervical cancer vaccine closer to FDA approval
A federal advisory committee has accepted findings from
Merck that Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine, is safe and
effective for females age 9 to 26. The Food and Drug
Administration is expected to make a decision on approval of the
vaccine by June 8.
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Association
News |
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Members voice support for treatment outcome measures
ASBMT members voiced strong support for their society
developing measures of treatment outcomes, provided that those
measures are accurate, useful and fairly applied. In an online
survey in May, members were asked their opinions about the
creation of a standardized system for measuring and reporting
outcomes of hematopoietic cell therapy.
Pediatric BMT to have special interest group within ASBMT
A section for pediatric blood and marrow transplantation has
been created within ASBMT.
Its objective is to promote the exchange of information, ideas
and research advances in hematopoietic cell transplantation for
diseases in children and adolescents. Special presentations are
planned for the BMT Tandem Meetings.
ASBMT endorses FACT/NetCord for cord blood accreditation
HRSA held two conference call hearings in May on standards
for and accreditation of cord blood banks within the National
Cord Blood Inventory program that is scheduled to begin before
year end. ASBMT representatives testified and submitted written
comments supporting the NetCord/FACT Standards and the
designation of FACT/NetCord as the sole accrediting agency.
Blood center personnel learn about stem cells and tissue
repair
An audience of more than 200 personnel at 49 blood centers
participated in an ASBMT-led teleconference on “Cellular Therapy
for Tissue Repair and Stem Cell Transplantation.” The session
targeted physicians, technologists, residents, fellows, nurses
and manager/supervisors at AABB-affiliated centers.
Updated resource guide for patients issued by nbmtLINK
The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link (nbmtLINK) has
updated its comprehensive guide for bone marrow/stem cell
transplant patients, their caregivers, family members and health
care professionals. More than 50,000 copies have been
distributed for previous editions of the Resource Guide for
Stem Cell Transplant, including Bone Marrow, Peripheral Blood,
and Cord Blood.
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