| |
|
February 1, 2007 |
| |
| If
you are unable to view these articles or access the links,
please visit the ASBMT Web Site at
www.asbmt.org to read this
issue. To be removed from this distribution list, please see
instructions at bottom. |
| |
 |
Top
Stories |
| |
|
|
|
Legislation and Regulation |
| |
|
|
|
Clinical
Research |
| |
|
|
|
Pharmaceutical News |
|
|
|
|
|
Association
News |
| |
|
|
|
Calendar |
| |
|
|
|
Job &
Fellowship Connections |
|
|
|
|
|
Monthly Journal |
|
|
|
|
|
eNews
Archives |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BMT Tandem
Meetings
Feb. 8-12, 2007
Keystone, Colorado |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Calendar |
|
• 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
Euroconference on Biobanking
European School of Haematology (EHS)
and European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
March 9-11
Quinta da Marinha Hotel
Cascais, Portugal
Hematopoietic Growth Factors: Use in Normal Blood and Stem
Cell Donors
University of Minnesota Biomedical Engineering Institute,
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB),
American Red Cross (ARC), and National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
March 15-16
Hyatt Regency Bethesda Hotel
Bethesda, Maryland
Canadian Society of Transplantation (CST)
Annual Scientific Meeting
March 15-18
Fairmont Banff Spring
Banff, Alberta, Canada
International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA)
4th World Congress
March 17-21
Gran Melia Cancun
Cancun, Mexico
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
San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina
San Diego, California
World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA)
Working Group Meetings
March 23-25
Lyon, France
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
American Association of Tissue Banks
11th Annual Spring Meeting
March 25-27
Renaissance Hollywood Hotel
Hollywood, California
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
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
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 Airport Marriott
Los Angeles, California
Short Course on Preservation of Cells, Tissues and Gametes
University of Minnesota
May 16-18
University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Approaches to Complex Pathways in Molecular Epidemiology
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
May 30-June 2
Hyatt Regency Tamaya
Albuquerque, New Mexico
• June
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
43rd Annual Meeting
June 1-7
McCormick Place
Chicago, Illinois
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
7th Annual Conference
June 7-11
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
San Diego, California
Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference
University of Nebraska Medical Center
June 11-15
Grand Wailea Resort
Maui, Hawaii
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
5th Annual Meeting
June 17-21
Cairns Convention Centre
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
13th Annual Meeting
June 24-27
Sydney Convention Center
Sydney, Australia
• July
Euroconference on GvHD/GvL: A Paradigm of Haemopoietic
Transplantation
European School of Haematology (ESH)
and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
July 6-7
Antemare Hotel
Sitges, Spain
Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI)
13th International Congress of Mucosal Immunology
July 9-12
Shinagawa Prince Hotel
Tokyo, Japan
Society for Cryobiology
Cryo 2007: 44th Meeting
July 28-Aug. 1
Banff, Canada
• September
36th Annual Scientific Meeting
International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH)
Sept. 28-30
Congress Center Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
• October
Cytokines in Health and Disease
International Cytokine Society (ICS)
Oct. 26-30
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, California
• December
American Society of Hematology (ASH)
49th Annual Meeting
Dec. 8-11
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
2008
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 13-17
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, California
2009
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 11-15
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Top
Stories |
| |
Gene identified that will help in organ matching
Scientists in China have discovered a new gene that plays a
vital role in matching organ transplants, particularly bone
marrow. This new allele of the human leucocyte antigen, called
HLA-B-9518, is the latest of about 30 found since 2000.
 |
|
|
Cord blood used to treat childhood leukemia
Use of a patient's own umbilical cord blood to aid recovery
from childhood leukemia has resulted in remission at three years
after the procedure. According to a report in the January issue
of the journal Pediatrics, doctors used the blood after
an aggressive chemotherapy protocol and full-body radiation to
treat a recurrence of the cancer that had spread to the
patient's spine.
|
|
|
National Cancer Institute faces budget cut
The National Cancer Institute’s budget is facing cuts for
the second consecutive year. President George W. Bush has
proposed cutting the budget by almost 1 percent, or $36 million,
to $4.7 billion. The American Society of Clinical Oncology says
cooperative cancer groups around the country may have to close
or delay 95 trials this year, nearly half of the trials that
these groups conduct each year.
|
|
|
Doctor warned over stem cell implantation
The FDA issued a warning letter to a physician in Las Vegas who
has been implanting stem cells harvested from placentas into
patients with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and other
diseases in violation of federal law. The doctor failed to
properly obtain, store, test and process the placentas, as well
as screen both the suitability of the donors and the at least 16
patients given the human tissue.
|
|
|
|
 A
Word from President
Robert Negrin, MD
Is there anyone among us who has not yet heard that
federal law is going to require us to report to a public
registry the outcomes of all related and unrelated
allogeneic blood transplants?
Is there anyone among us, though, who really knows what
this means and how it will be done?
Five colleagues who are most in the know will share their
information and knowledge at the BMT Tandem Meetings next
week in Keystone, Colo. I asked each to provide several
sentences about the information they’ll be bringing to the
conference.
Dennis Confer, chief medical officer for the
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), told me the new
reporting requirements promise to put more information and
more control into the hands of patients and their
families. This continues a long-term trend of enabling
patients to be more involved in decisions about their
health care.
Doug Rizzo, Center for International Blood and
Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) associate scientific
director, said that he will tell meeting participants
about electronic data systems being developed to help
transplant centers with their new reporting obligations.
He said many medical directors may not know that they can
ask their hospital or medical center for support with data
management resources needed to meet reporting requirements
– something that is fairly common in reporting outcomes of
solid organ transplants.
Roy Jones of MD Anderson Cancer Center, who chairs
an ASBMT committee on quality outcomes, said the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) has developed data standards and
common data elements that transplant centers can use to
report outcomes in clinical trials and standard therapy.
ASBMT, together with NMDP and CIBMTR, is working to ensure
that these standards meet the requirements of the new
legislation. ASBMT will be surveying transplant centers
about their data management and electronic transfer of
information to find ways to help them meet the new
reporting requirements.
Mary Horowitz, CIBMTR scientific director, said
U.S. transplant centers that already are reporting data to
CIBMTR for research purposes, using the Transplant
Essential Data (TED) form, will experience only modest
changes with the addition of several more required data
fields. The U.S. Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) is contracting with CIBMTR to
collect and analyze the outcomes data. CIBMTR is seeking
broad input from the transplant community on how best to
meet both the data collection and outcomes analysis
requirements of the new legislation. Travel grants will be
available for data managers in U.S. facilities to attend
training programs to learn about the reporting
requirements and methods.
Ian Jamieson, manager of the Shands Transplant
Center at the University of Florida, has been dealing with
mandatory reporting of outcomes in solid organ transplants
for a number of years. He will share his practical
experience – some of it rather sobering. He will tell
about a medical director who was relieved of his
responsibilities after a payer commented to others at his
institution about the poor outcomes at the medical
director’s center. He’ll also explain how an enterprising
newspaper reporter has “made a career” out of using
publicly available data to identify transplant programs
alleged to be underperforming.
These informed colleagues will be speaking at two sessions
at the BMT Tandem Meetings to help clarify for us the new
reporting requirements.
• One of the sessions will be an NMDP workshop on
“Measurement and Reporting Treatment Outcomes” at 10:30
a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8.
• The other will be an update on quality outcomes
reporting presented at the annual BMT Medical Directors
Conference at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11.
I don’t know about you, but these are sessions I won’t
want to miss.
– Rob |
|
|
|
|
Legislation and Regulation |
|
|
FDA issues plan to license manufacturing of cord blood
A draft guidance document, issued by the FDA, proposes
methods for licensing manufacturers of minimally manipulated,
unrelated, allogeneic cord blood. The document, Minimally
Manipulated, Unrelated, Allogeneic Placental/Umbilical Cord
Blood Intended for Hematopoietic Reconstitution in Patients with
Hematological Malignancies, is open for public comment
through April 17.
Representative vows to get stem cell bill past Bush veto
Representative Diane DeGette (D-Colo.) vows to find a way to
get the human embryonic stem cell research bill past another
veto by President Bush. The bill passed the House two weeks ago
on a 253-174 vote, but DeGette said she doesn’t have the 290
votes it would take to override a veto. The bill is now headed
to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
|
|
|
|
Clinical Research |
| |
Stage
discovered when embryonic cells become stem cells
Scientists have discovered the stage at which some cells in
a fertilized mammalian egg are fated to develop into stem cells.
According to a report in the January 10 issue of the journal
Nature, differences between the embryonic cells are already
apparent at the four-cell-stage, before the cells become
partitioned between the inside or outside of the embryo.
Amniotic
cells have same traits as embryonic stem cells
Fetal stem cells in amniotic fluid have many of the same
traits as embryonic stem cells, including the ability to grown
into brain, muscle and other tissues. According to a report in
the advance online edition of the journal Nature, these
cells are easily retrieved during routine prenatal testing and
are easier to maintain in laboratory dishes than embryonic stem
cells.
Stem cells shown to trigger cancer
Two groups have determined that stem cells can trigger
cancer by locking into a state where they continue multiplying
as primitive stem cells instead of maturing into specific
tissues such as the breast or ovary. The change seems to be
triggered by the deactivation of a group of genes known as
polycomb genes, which in cancers were more likely than usual to
be switched off by a chemical process called methylation.
Scientists
map gene that regulates stem cell numbers
Researchers have identified and mapped a stem cell gene that
regulates the number of adult stem cells in the body,
particularly in bone marrow. According to a report in the
February issue of the journal Nature Genetics,
identifying this gene and its protein product could allow for
such clinical applications as increasing the stem cell count in
cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and bone marrow
transplantation.
|
| |
|
Pharmaceutical News |
| |
Sales of adult stem cell products expected to double
Sales of adult stem cell products are predicted to double in
2007, exceeding $35 million. According to a medical industry
analyst, the reason for the projected upswing is increased use
of current products on the market.
BioE partners with Anderson to assess stem cell treatment
BioE Inc. is partnering with the University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center to evaluate the potential of the
company’s stem cell in the treatment of cancer. The stem cell,
which is obtained using a proprietary cell-isolation system from
BioE, will be examined to determine its utility to transport
anti-tumor therapies.
|
| |
|
Association
News |
| |
|
Claudio Anasetti will lead ASBMT in 2009
Claudio Anasetti, M.D., has been chosen by mail ballot of ASBMT
members to be the society’s vice president. The office places
him in line to assume the presidency two years from now. Dr.
Anasetti is professor of oncology and medicine and program
leader of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at the
University of South Florida, Tampa.
Newly elected directors are Jeffrey Schriber, M.D., of the City
of Hope/Samaritan Bone Marrow Transplantation Program in
Phoenix; Paul Martin, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center and the University of Washington in Seattle; and
Ginna Laport, M.D., of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.
All will take office at the close of the BMT Tandem Meetings
this month in Keystone, Colo.
BBMT begins online publishing of ‘in press’ articles
A new “Articles in Press” feature begins this month on the Web
site of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. When
a final version of a manuscript is accepted for publication and
the authors have approved the proofs, the corrected proof of the
article will be posted on the journal’s Web site.
Korngold reappointed as editor of BBMT
Robert Korngold, PhD, has been reappointed as editor-in-chief of
ASBMT's monthly scientific journal, Biology of Blood and
Marrow Transplantation. During his tenure, the journal has
increased 95 percent in size and the manuscript submission rate
has climbed 160 percent.
Comments sought for coding and labeling standards
Draft voluntary standards for coding and labeling of cellular
therapy products are available for inspection and comment
through Feb. 28. The governing boards of 12 national and
international cellular therapy organizations, including ASBMT,
agreed to develop the standards for the use of ISBT 128 for
coding and labeling of cellular therapy products.
New FACT accreditation standards published
Updated requirements for FACT accreditation are contained in the
Third Edition of the FACT-JACIE International Standards for
Cellular Therapy Product Collection, Processing and
Administration. Complete updates of the standards occur at
three-year intervals.
FACT updates Web site
The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy has
updated its Web site. The Web address is the same, but the site
has been rearranged, expanded and made faster and easier to
navigate. Visitors can search for accredited BMT facilities and
cord blood banks, learn about accreditation requirements, locate
and sign up for workshops, find out how to become an inspector
and contact the FACT leadership and staff.
BMT CTN to organize State of the Science Symposium
A national State of the Science Symposium is being organized by
the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN)
for June 7-8 at the University of Michigan Convention Center in
Ann Arbor. Details and registration information will be
available in March. |
|
|
|
BMT
Tandem Meetings |
|
|
BMT Tandem Meetings ready to unfold in Keystone
Preparations are complete for the BMT Tandem Meetings in
Keystone, Colo. Conferences for allied health professionals
begin Feb. 5, and the main program is Feb. 8-12. More than 1,700
have pre-registered.
Welcome reception precedes opening day
The Welcome Reception at this year’s BMT Tandem Meetings
will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, which is the
evening before the Opening Plenary Session. In past
years, the Welcome Reception has been on the evening of the
opening day.
CME credit can be claimed online
For the first time at the BMT Tandem Meetings, continuing
medical education (CME) credit will be processed online. At
computer terminals in the conference center or via the Internet
after returning home, meeting participants can complete
evaluation forms and claim CME credit for sessions attended, and
print out their own CME certificates. Instructions for the new
procedures will be e-mailed to pre-registrants before the
meeting and included with on-site registration materials.
Orientation will guide fellows attending for first time
A coffee break reception and orientation for
fellows-in-training attending the BMT Tandem Meetings for the
first time will be held the morning of the opening day. The
reception will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in Castle Peak
3-4 meeting room.
Airport shuttle should be reserved in advance
A shuttle service between Denver International Airport (DIA)
and the Keystone Resort is offered by Colorado Mountain Express.
The rate is $63 each way. Reservations can be made online via
the ASBMT and CIBMTR Web sites.
Discounts available on ski lift tickets
Discounted lift tickets are available at the Keystone slopes
by showing a BMT Tandem Meetings name badge or guest badge.
Tickets also will be sold in the Keystone Conference Center
fireplace lobby from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, and from 3
to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8. Rates and additional information are
available online.
Sessions will address mandatory outcomes reporting
Several sessions in Keystone will consider assessment and
reporting of treatment outcomes, as required under new federal
law. These will include a scientific session at 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 8, and the BMT Medical Directors Conference at
1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11. Additional information will be
provided in sessions at the Clinical Research Professionals Data
Management Conference and the BMT Administrators Conference.
Not to be missed: Monday’s program
The BMT Tandem Meetings will adjourn at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb
12. If you don’t stay for the final day, you’ll miss: (a) the
plenary session on cancer stem cells, including selective
targeting of leukemia stem cells and stem cell pathways to
therapeutic targets; (b) concurrent scientific sessions on
adoptive transfer and in vivo expansion of allogeneic NK cells
to treat cancer, and transplant center contingency planning for
pandemics, bioterrorism, nuclear disasters and biologic
emergencies; and (c) oral abstract sessions on lymphoma,
leukemia, multiple myeloma, stem cell biology, allogeneic and
autologous transplants, late effects, quality of life and
supportive care.
Travel grants awarded to 40 young investigators
The ASBMT Board of Directors has announced 40 travel grants
for young clinicians and investigators who will be traveling to
Keystone for the BMT Tandem Meetings. Grants of $1,000 each are
being awarded to all young investigators who are presenting oral
abstracts at the meetings.
Additional information for a successful meeting
Visit the ASBMT Web site for additional information about
the scientific program schedule, housing, car rental discount,
ski equipment rental, international travel, allied health
conferences for transplant nurses, pharmacists, administrators
and clinical research professionals, and much more.
|
|
