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November
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
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. 8-12, 2007
Keystone, Colorado |
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Calendar |
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• November
International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer
Therapeutics
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Nov. 7-10
Prague Congress Centre
Prague, Czech Republic
European Society of Gene Therapy (ESGT)
14th Annual Congress
Nov. 9-12
Athens Hilton Hotel
Athens, Greece
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
19th Annual Council Meeting
Nov. 10-12
Hilton Minneapolis Hotel
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tumor Immunology: An Integrated Perspective
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Nov. 29-Dec. 2
InterContinental Miami Hotel
Miami, Florida
• December
American Society of Hematology (ASH)
48th Annual Meeting
Dec. 9-12
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
46th Annual Meeting
Dec. 9-13
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
2007
• January
Stem Cell Transplantation in Children: Current Results and
Controversies - Meeting #9
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Jan. 16-18
Manchester Grand Hyatt
San Diego, California
In the Forefront of Basic and Translational Cancer Research
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
with Japanese Cancer Association (JCA)
Jan. 21-25
Hilton Waikoloa Village
Waikoloa, Hawaii
Cell Death and Cancer: Opportunities for Intervention
Stanley J. Korsmeyer Symposium
Jan. 25-26
Conference Center at Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Oncogenomics 2007
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Jan. 31-Feb. 4
Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs
Phoenix, Arizona
• February
Chemistry in Cancer Research: A Vital Partnership
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
with the American Chemical Society (ACS)
Feb. 4-7
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
San Diego, California
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 8-12
Keystone Conference Center
Keystone, Colorado
Making Rational Immunosuppression Decisions for the
Individual Patient
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
11th Annual Winter Symposium
Feb. 15-19
Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa
Phoenix, Arizona
Translational Research at the Aging and Cancer Interface
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Feb. 20-23
Omni San Diego Hotel
San Diego, California
• March
4th International Conference on Tumor Microenvironment:
Progression, Therapy and Prevention
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
with the International Cancer Microenvironment Society (ICMS)
March 6-10
Pallazo dei Congressi
Florence, Italy
Hematopoietic Growth Factors; Use in Normal Blood and Stem
Cell Donors
University of Minnesota Biomedical Engineering Institute
March 15-16
Hyatt Regency Bethesda Hotel
Bethesda, Maryland
5th Conference on Mesenchymal and Tissue
Stem Cells
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT),
with the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
March 15-17
Wyndam Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana
Advances and Controversies in the Biology and Therapy of
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and Myelodysplasia
Acute Leukemia Forum 2007
March 23
W Hotel
San Francisco, California
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
2007 Spring Conference
March 23-25
Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
33rd Annual Meeting
March 25-28
Palais des Congrès of Lyon
Lyon, France
• April
Organ Transplantation: Ethical, Legal and Psychological
Aspects – Towards a Common European Policy
Dutch Transplant Foundation (DTF)
April 1-4
World Trade Center
Rotterdam, The Netherlands,
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
98th Annual Meeting
April 14-18
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, California
2nd Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium: Heart and Blood
University of Wisconsin-Madison
April 18
BioPharmacetuical Technology Center Institute
Madison, Wisconsin
American Society for Apheresis (ASFA)
28th Annual Meeting
April 18-21
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
Nashville, Tennessee
• May
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPH/O)
20th Annual Meeting
May 3-6
Toronto, Canada
American Transplant Congress
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
May 5-9
San Francisco, California
5th Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation
Symposium
California Blood Bank Society and Cord Blood Forum
May 11-12
Los Angeles, California
• June
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
43rd Annual Meeting
June 1-5
Chicago, Illinois
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
7th Annual Conference
June 7-11
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
San Diego, California
Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI)
13th International Congress of Mucosal Immunology
June 9-12
Shinagawa Prince Hotel
Tokyo, Japan
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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Bone marrow cells have anti-ischemic effect in heart
Bone marrow cells have a potent anti-ischemic effect in the
human myocardium that may help explain their effectiveness when
they are injected after a myocardial infarction. According to a
report in the advance online edition of the Journal of
Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the anti-ischemic
effect is mediated by the kinases protein kinase C and p38
mitogen-activated protein kinase.
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Liver sections grown from umbilical cord
blood cells
Researchers in the United Kingdom have grown sections of
human liver from umbilical cord blood stem cells. These liver
sections, which are smaller than a penny, may be used to test
pharmaceuticals. However, the work has not yet undergone peer
review or been published.
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California plans big spending on stem cell research
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s
governing board plans to spend about $500 million on stem cell
research in 2007 to construct laboratories, fuel research and
develop the first treatments from human embryonic stem cells.
The institute also plans to move quickly to commit funds for
capital construction projects, which would take several years to
complete and are considered critical for the program's long-term
success.
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Chinese marrow program reaches half-million potential donors
The China Marrow Donor Program now houses information from
500,000 potential donors, including about 500 who have
volunteered to give hematopoietic stem cells for transplant
after matching of human leucocyte antigens. The program, set up
in 2001, has established 30 provincial banks, and matches have
been made with patients in China and the United States.
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Johns Hopkins establishes private stem cell center
Johns Hopkins University has established the Stem Cell
Resource Center to preserve, create, supply and test
high-quality stem cell lines for its own researchers now and the
greater scientific community later. This privately funded center
offers streamlined and centralized handling of cell lines and
requests to use them, and is expected to cut wait times and
paperwork substantially. |
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Word from President
Robert Negrin, MD
If you lived out here on the Left Coast, you’d be
familiar with the sensation of the ground shifting beneath
your feet. After the world stops shaking and everything
settles down, it’s reassuring to step outside and see that
everything is still in its place. The structures here are
built to withstand most run-of-the-fault tremors.
For all of us throughout the BMT community, the ground
also did some shifting in recent weeks. Did you feel it? I
am happy to report that our structures proved sturdy and
remain standing.
You probably heard or read the news. The movement under
foot was several developments in cord blood banking. It
started when Congress last year enacted legislation to
increase the national inventory of cord blood units by
150,000. To achieve this, the Health Resources and
Services Administration (HRSA) was directed to
competitively award contracts for (1) national
coordinating centers for adult donor and cord blood
registries, (2) a patient advocacy bureau, and (3) a
clinical outcomes registry and (4) financial assistance
for selected cord blood banks to support the collection of
additional cord blood units. All participating banks are
required to be accredited by an independent agency
selected by HRSA.
The national program is called the C.W. Bill Young Cell
Transplantation Program, named for a member of Congress
who has long been a friend of cancer research and
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Proposals were submitted this past summer, and HRSA
announced in recent weeks who will be responsible for
three of those four functions legislated by Congress:
• A bid by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) was
accepted for the
National Cord Blood Coordinating Center, with initial
funding of $1.8 million over two years. HRSA also
re-authorized the NMDP for its ongoing role as the
registry and coordinating center for unrelated-donor blood
stem cell transplants, with funding of $34.9 million over
that same period.
• The NMDP also won the privilege to operate the
Office of Patient Advocacy for unrelated-donor blood
stem cell transplants. With funding of $1.2 million, the
office will provide a single point of access through which
transplant centers and patients can search electronically
for the best available cells.
• The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant
Research (CIBMTR), a partnership of the Medical College of
Wisconsin and the NMDP, will manage the
Stem Cell Therapeutic Outcomes Database for cord blood
and allogeneic transplants. With initial two-year funding
of $6.2 million, CIBMTR will collect and analyze
standardized data on the outcomes of all allogeneic blood
stem cell transplants in the United States.
The one function left to be decided by HRSA is the
accrediting agency for the participating cord blood banks.
We’re confident that our Foundation for the Accreditation
of Cellular Therapy (FACT) will be designated for this
responsibility. Since the late 1990s, FACT has been
leading the way with its NetCord/FACT standards,
comprehensive inspections and voluntary accreditation
program.
In addition to these government actions, the NMDP and the
International NetCord Foundation announced last month a
Search Exchange Agreement. They plan to link their
registries so that transplant centers can simultaneously
search both databases. The NMDP database currently lists
more than 50,000 units of cord blood from 16 banks within
its network, the largest listing of cord blood units in
the United States. The NetCord database, located in
Germany, lists 115,000 cord blood units, representing the
inventory of 23 blood banks in 16 countries.
The series of announcements in the past several weeks have
been of seismic importance to cord blood banking and blood
stem cell transplantation. It’s satisfying to see the
public sector entrusting these responsibilities and
resources to the organizations and programs that we’ve
built over the years.
Particular applause is due to the individuals who had the
foresight to establish and nurture these organizations.
Although there are too many to name here, they all must be
congratulated for the countless hours of hard and often
selfless work on behalf of our field.
If it hadn’t been for the sturdy structures that they
created, the rolling announcements in recent weeks might
have given us a very different landscape for blood stem
cell transplantation.
– Rob |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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House passes pandemic flu preparedness bill
Before leaving town last month, the House passed a bill that
would create a Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority (BARDA) to facilitate collaboration and preparedness
in the event of a pandemic flu or other catastrophic medical
threat. The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development
Act (H.R. 5533) passed unanimously, providing authority and
funding to enter into contracts to support advanced research and
develop countermeasures. |
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Clinical Research |
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Mutation explains cancer resistance in mice
A mutation in cancer-resistant mice enables their white
blood cells to overwhelm the natural defense of malignant cells
and kill them, according to a report in the journal Cancer
Immunity. Researchers determined that the mutation renders
the white blood cells capable of sensing unique diffusible and
surface signals from cancer cells and responding to those
signals by migration and physical contact.
Protein lends radiation resistance to brain cancer cells
Glioblastoma stem cells that carry a protein called CD133
are able to activate a DNA repair pathway, making them more
resistant to radiation therapy. However, according to a report
in the advance online edition of the journal Nature,
drugs can disrupt this protective response, causing these stem
cells to become just as sensitive to radiation as other tumor
cells.
Trial tests effectiveness of autologous transplant for heart
disease
Baxter Healthcare Corporation is funding research on whether
autologous stem cell treatment is effective for chronic
myocardial ischemia when conventional interventions have failed.
The treatment method will be tested at 15 to 20 sites in the
United States and will cover about 200 patients.
Stretching encourages cells to differentiate into vessel tissue
When stretched, mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow can
be encouraged to differentiate into the smooth muscle tissue
found in the walls of blood vessels. According to a report in
the advance online edition of the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, the cells were placed on a
silicon membrane that was stretched once per second to
correspond to a typical adult pulse rate.
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Pharmaceutical News |
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Gleevec cleared to fight five rare diseases
Novartis AG has received approval to market Gleevec (imatinib)
to treat five rare diseases, including dermatofibrosarcoma
protuberans. The oral drug also was cleared to fight the blood
diseases Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic
leukemia, hypereosinophilic syndrome and aggressive systemic
mastocytosis, as well as some myeloproliferative disorders.
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Association
News |
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Transplanters will study here from South, Central America
ASBMT is launching a new program to bring BMT clinicians and
investigators from Central and South America to study at U.S.
and Canadian transplant facilities. Transplant centers
interested in hosting an international visitor are invited to
apply.
Weissman to present Thomas Lecture at Keystone
Irving Weissman, MD, director of the Institute of Stem Cell
Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford School of
Medicine, will present the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture at the BMT
Tandem Meetings in Keystone. His presentation, “Normal and
Neoplastic Stem Cells,” will be on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Heavy early registration for BMT Tandem Meetings
As of the early registration deadline last month,
registrations for the 2007 BMT Tandem Meetings were 34% ahead of
the 2005 meetings in Keystone. Abstract submissions also were
ahead by 31%. The meetings will be held Feb. 8-12, with several
parallel conferences scheduled for the preceding days, Feb. 5-7.
Options now limited for Keystone housing
A limited number of single-bedroom accommodations remain for
the 2007 BMT Tandem Meetings in Keystone. These are expected to
be sold out by the Jan. 5 reservations deadline. Housing can be
reserved online. For special assistance, call toll-free (866)
620-6371.
Keystone reports 16 inches of new snow
Earlier than usual snow falls have prompted Keystone Resort
to move its opening day up by one week. Skiers and snowboarders
will be on the slopes beginning Friday this week.
Education book goes to press
The Education Book for the 2007 BMT Tandem Meetings has gone
to press. Session and workshop chairs have prepared 18 chapters
that comprise the book that will be published as a supplement to
the January 2007 issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow
Transplantation.
Patients served by NMDP increased by 20% this year
The number of patients served by the National Marrow Donor
Program and its network grew by more than 20 percent in the past
12 months. NMDP-facilitated marrow and cord blood transplants
exceeded 3,200. Cord blood shipments more than doubled for the
year, now representing 14 percent of total NMDP transplants.
Guidelines for transplant consultation updated
“Guidelines on Recommended Timing for Transplant
Consultation” have been updated by ASBMT and the National Marrow
Donor Program (NMDP). The recommendations are intended for
patient counseling by referring physicians and initial
discussion during development of a treatment plan that may
include transplantation. The guidelines identify prognostic
factors for patients at risk of disease progression using
standard therapy and suggest, by disease, which patients should
be evaluated for transplantation.
Review addresses cutaneous manifestations of chronic GvHD
Cutaneous chronic GvHD has traditionally been classified
into lichenoid and scleroderma-like forms. However, the initial
presentation is sometimes subtle and a variety of less-common
cutaneous manifestation may be prevalent. The November issue of
Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation presents a
clinical review of the lesional morphology of chronic GvHD and
presents a classification system that may be useful in early
diagnosis.
Interview DOs and DON’Ts for job seekers
Click below for several online DOs and DON’Ts for job
interviews. Twenty-four employment opportunities currently are
listed in the “Job Connection” on the ASBMT Web site. Much like
classified want ads in a newspaper or journal, the listings can
be searched free of charge by job seekers or purchased for a
nominal fee by employers with an available position.
Free ASBMT membership for trainees
Postdoctoral fellows and physicians-in-training for blood
and marrow transplantation are eligible for free membership in
the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Annual dues are waived for new trainees who apply for membership
in the Society. The program is made possible through a grant
from PDL BioPharma, Inc.
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