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September
4, 2007 |
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Top
Stories |
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Legislation and Regulation |
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Clinical
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Biopharmaceutical 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. 13-17, 2008
San Diego, California |
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Calendar |
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• September
American Society of Multicultural Health and Transplant
Professionals (ASMHTP)
15th Annual Conference
Sept. 5-7
Sheraton Society Hill
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cell Transplant Society (CTS)
Joint Conference of IXA, IPITA, CTS
Sept. 15-20
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
2nd Annual Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer
Therapeutic Development
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Sept. 17-20
Atlanta Hilton
Atlanta, Georgia
Medical and Organizational Challenges Resulting from a
Radiological/Nuclear Emergency
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
and ASBMT
Sept. 25
Marriott Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland
7th Annual Somatic Cell Therapy Symposium
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
Sept. 26-28
Bethesda, Maryland
International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH)
36th Annual Scientific Meeting
Sept. 28-30
Congress Center Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
• October
24th National Oncology Economics Conference
Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC)
Oct. 3-6
Hyatt Regency Dallas
Dallas, Texas
4th Annual Symposium on Controversies and Clinical Challenges in Myeloma, Lymphoma and Leukemia
Physicians’ Education Resource
Oct. 5-7
Biltmore Coral Gables
Miami, Florida
American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI)
33rd Annual Meeting
Oct. 8-12
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
60th Annual Symposium on Cancer Research
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Oct. 12-14
J.W. Marriott Hotel
Houston, Texas
3rd World Congress on Regenerative Medicine
Fraunhofer Institut für Zelltherapie und Immunologie
Oct. 18-20
Germany Congress Center
Leipzig, Germany
Biology and Clinical Applications of Cord Blood Cells
European School of Haematology (ESH), EuroCord, International
NetCord Foundation,
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Oct. 19-20
Maison de la Chimie
Paris, France
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
2007 Annual Meeting
Oct. 20-23
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, California
International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer
Therapeutics
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR),
National Cancer Institute (NCI),
and Federation of European Cancer Societies (FORTC)
Oct. 22-26
Moscone Convention Center West
San Francisco, California
American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG)
57th Annual Meeting
Oct. 23-27
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
Cytokines in Health and Disease
International Cytokine Society (ICS)
Oct. 26-30
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, California
European Society of Gene Therapy (ESGT)
15th Annual Congress
Oct. 27-30
Erasmus Medical Center
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• November
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
20th Annual Council Meeting
Nov. 2-4
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Centennial Conference: Translational Cancer Medicine
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Nov. 4-8
Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Singapore
Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow
Chemotherapy Foundation
Nov. 6-10
Marriott Marquis Hotel
New York, New York
International Congress on Myeloproliferative Diseases and
Myelodysplastic Syndromes
4th International Congress
Nov. 8-10
Marriott New York – Brooklyn Bridge
New York, New York
19th Asia Pacific Cancer Conference
Iranian Bone Marrow Transplantation Society
Nov. 15-17
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Tehran, Iran
• December
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
47th Annual Meeting
Dec. 1-5
Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
American Society of Hematology (ASH)
49th Annual Meeting
Dec. 8-11
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
2008
• January
Ubiquitin and Cancer: From Molecular Targets and Mechanisms to
the Clinic
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Jan. 22-25
Omni San Diego Hotel
San Diego, California
• February
Cytoskeletal Signaling in Cancer
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Feb. 3-5
Omni San Diego Hotel
San Diego, California
The Role of Cancer Stem Cells in the Initiation and Propagation
of Tumorigenesis
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Feb. 12-15
Los Angeles Marriott Downtown
Los Angeles, California
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 13-17
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, California
• March
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
34th Annual Meeting
March 30-April 2
Fortezza da Basso
Florence, Italy
• April
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
99th Annual Meeting
April 12 - 16, 2008
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
2009
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 11-15
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida
2010
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 24-28
Rosen Shingle Creek Conference Center
Orlando, Florida
2011
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 17-21
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
2012
BMT Tandem Meetings
(Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings)
Feb. 1-5
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, California
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Top
Stories |
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Infant bone marrow transplant delays communication
Children younger than 2 who undergo a bone marrow transplant may experience a decline in communication and other developmental skills, due to the long isolation inherent in the procedure. According to a presentation at the recent American Psychological Association meeting, results from the 56 children studied indicate these patients are at risk for declines in IQ and slowing the rate of acquisition of developmental skills. |
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Scientists create cancer stem cells
Scientists at MIT have found a way to create large amounts of cancer stem cells – the cells that initiate tumors – in the lab. According to a report in the Aug. 14 issue of Cancer Cell, the new study suggests that some normal cells are more prone to become tumor-initiating and have a higher potential to metastasize. Researchers created these cells by isolating and transforming a particular population of cells from human breast tissue.
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Court denies right of terminally ill to get experimental drugs
Terminally ill patients do not have a constitutional right to be treated with experimental drugs, according to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court found that even terminally ill patients cannot assume “any level of risk” with regard to medical testing and that a potentially toxic drug with unproven therapeutic benefits could hasten the deaths of these patients.
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Survivor winner promotes Asian American donor program
Yul Kwon, winner of the “Survivor: Cook Islands” contest in 2006, is promoting the Asian American Donor Program. The program, founded in 1990 to recruit marrow or blood stem cell donors from the Asian American population, has raised Asian American donors on the international registry from 123 in 1990 to nearly 80,000 today.
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 A Word from President Robert Soiffer, MD
Chances are you’ve kicked snow from your boots in Keystone, Colo. I can safely divine this because we’ve held six of our last 12 February annual meetings at that Rocky Mountain resort.
But have you ever seen Keystone in July? I have not, but I’m told the hiking, cycling, rafting, golf and other short-sleeve activities keep the place as busy in summer as it is in winter.
Several weeks ago, 10 young physician scientists experienced Keystone in summer at the first ASBMT Clinical Research Training Course. They were among 30 who competed to spend nearly a week learning one-on-one with a distinguished and diverse faculty of seasoned investigators.
Daniel Weisdorf, MD, (University of Minnesota) and Nelson Chao, MD, (Duke University) were director and co-director of the course, which germinated at an ASBMT Board of Directors strategic planning retreat. Several days after the course, Dan sent me a memo that doesn’t mention, directly, their afternoon of white water rafting on the Snake River. I thought you might enjoy reading his report.
Dear Rob:
I wanted to summarize the experience of last week’s training course in Keystone. I think it was an enormously positive experience for both the scholars and faculty.
We had 10 scholars, five of whom were pediatricians and one was from Mexico. They were guided by nine faculty – a nearly one-to-one ratio. The six days included lectures, small-group sessions, time to work on individual research projects, and some free time for recreation and bonding.
We covered clinical trials design, biostatistics, ethics in research, vulnerable populations, regulatory issues, grant writing, team projects, study endpoints and new drug development. The formal presentations were supplemented by scientific reviews of GVHD mechanisms and therapy, cell therapy, translation of animal studies to human studies, multi-center and cooperative group trials, stem cell biology, chronic GVH diagnosis and therapy, clinical pharmacology and measures of late effects and quality of life in clinical studies. We also took some time to discuss employment searches and how to interview for a job.
Early in the week the scholars were given, on short notice, an assignment to prepare a proposal and presentation for a research project. Then later in the week, after several sessions with faculty and individual sessions with a biostatistician, they were given the opportunity to re-present their proposals.
The scholars and faculty collectively rated the course 4.8 on a scale of 5, but agreed that more time could be spent on case studies and problem solving, and a little less on specific diseases, although perhaps retaining graft vs. host disease. Additional assignments for the scholars could involve transforming data into an abstract and one-on-one critiques of writing skills.
We might want to move the group bonding/recreation experience to mid-week, rather than the first day. It also was proposed to alternate the morning and afternoon free time and writing time.
Finally, we think that the number of scholars for future courses can be safely increased to 16 or 18, with a faculty of 10 clinicians and two biostatisticians – still providing a lot of one-on-one consultation. This would increase the number of fellows and young scientists benefiting from the training without compromising the individualized attention or greatly increasing the required number of faculty.
The five pharmaceutical companies that supported the course – Amgen, Merck, PDL BioPharma, Genzyme Transplant and Abbott Molecular – are all enthusiastic about its quality and value, and several already have expressed eagerness to continue support in upcoming years.
We will ask the scholars for a progress report, perhaps in mid to late October, and we propose inviting them to a breakfast at the BMT Tandem Meetings next February to assess their development and learn more about how the experience has helped their professional advancement.
I greatly appreciate being invited to chair this first course and personally look forward to its continuation. Nelson and I are convinced that this is a worthwhile Society venture for future years.
Sincerely,
Dan
I do want to thank and share with you the names of the scholars and faculty.
I have no doubt that next summer ... maybe at Keystone or maybe somewhere else ... another class of high-performing young physician scientists will be learning from top people in our field.
– Rob
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Legislation and Regulation |
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 Bills to promote umbilical cord blood use in California
A California senator and assemblyman have proposed separate legislation to promote collection and storage of umbilical cord blood. The Senate bill (962) would create a comprehensive infrastructure to promote the use of umbilical cord blood cells for both medical research and treatment. The Assembly bill (34) would establish a public cord blood collection program.
Medicare limits on anemia drugs challenged
The federal Medicare agency will be asked to re-consider its recent rule that tightens usage and dosing for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. ASCO argues that the limits are based on insufficient evidence of the drugs' heart risks and are inconsistent with FDA labeling requirements.
FDA issues guidance for small-entity compliance
The FDA has issued compliance guidance on regulations for small-entity establishments that manufacture human cells, tissues and cellular- and tissue-based products. Using a question-and-answer format, it addresses registration and listing, donor eligibility, current good tissue practices and FDA inspections and enforcement.
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Clinical Research |
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Researchers discover different subtypes of blood stem cells
Researchers have identified various subtypes of blood stem cells, each of which behaves uniquely and produces different types of mature blood cells in a transplant setting. According to a report in the Aug. 16 issue of Cell Stem Cell, this discovery could explain why certain types of leukemia are harder to treat. In addition, transplanting specific stem cell subtypes that produce different amounts of mature blood cells might make bone marrow transplants more effective and improve outcomes for patients.
Chemo and stem cell transplant improve amyloidosis survival
Treatment with high-dose chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplantation has resulted in median survival of 57 months for patients with primary systemic light chain amyloidosis. According to findings published ahead of print in Blood, 18 of the 80 patients receiving this regimen are still alive after more than 10 years, compared with only 2 percent of patients treated with oral melphalan and prednisone.
Initial stem cell activation does not determine its fate
Once stem cells are activated, they enter a window of time during which they respond to their environment and retain their ability to alter their developmental path. According to a report published online before print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers determined that the bone morphogenetic protein pathway needs to be turned on and off at the right time and right place for adult skin stem cells to become hair follicles
Resistance to imatinib better understood
Results of a study by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital provide strong evidence
for why the targeted therapy drug imatinib, which has revolutionized the treatment of CML, is often
unable to prevent relapse of ALL.
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Biopharmaceutical News |
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PDL plans to divest Busulfex
PDL BioPharma, Inc., announced a reorganization plan that includes selling its commercial assets including its IV Busulfex products. After a “months-long business and portfolio review,” the company decided to focus on the discovery and development of antibodies in oncology and select immunological diseases.
Company develops cocktail to improve stem cell survival
Geron Corp. says development of a "survival cocktail" that includes various proteins and other compounds helps human embryonic stem cells thrive and repair the damaged hearts of rats. Researchers induced heart attacks in rats, then injected the new heart muscle cells. Every graft integrated into the hearts of the rats, where they beat in rhythm and improved the heart function of the rats.
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Association
News |
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Four new research grants announced for young investigators
Research grants of $60,000 each are being announced this month by ASBMT in cooperation with HistoGenetics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., and PDL BioPharma. A single application provides access to all four awards. The deadline is Nov. 30.
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. During September and October, annual dues are waived for new trainees who apply for membership in the Society. The program is made possible again this year through a grant from PDL BioPharma, Inc.
Early registration deadline is Oct. 8 for BMT Tandem Meetings
Oct. 8 is the deadline for early registration for the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings, to be held Feb. 13-17 in San Diego. During August, more than 300 registrants reserved hotel accommodations for the meetings. On a single Web page, navigate to meeting registration, housing reservations, preliminary program, abstract submission and parallel conferences.
Abstract submission deadline is Oct. 8 for San Diego meeting
Abstracts for the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings are being accepted through Oct. 8. Invitations for oral presentation will be offered to about 75 authors whose abstracts receive the highest scores from the review committees. ASBMT will provide travel grants of $1,000 each to young investigators whose abstracts are accepted for oral presentation.
Pediatric sessions will have own track at BMT Tandem Meetings
A parallel track of sessions on transplanation for children and adolescents will be Feb. 14, the second day of the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings. Organized by the Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC), the sessions will include oral presentations of the best pediatric abstracts.
Nurses, pharmacists, data managers will meet in San Diego
As in past years, several parallel conferences will convene at the time of the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings in San Diego: Clinical Research Professionals/Data Management (Feb. 12-14), BMT Center Administrators (Feb. 13-14), BMT Pharmacists (Feb. 15-17), Transplant Nursing (Feb. 15-17) and BMT Medical Directors (Feb. 16). Agendas are continuously updated on the BMT Tandem Meeting’s Web page.
Is your contingency plan for radiological emergencies ready?
Learn ways that BMT personnel and centers can prepare for radiological/nuclear emergencies. A one-day conference, developed by the NMDP and ASBMT, will be held Sept. 25 in Bethesda, Md.
Cord blood conference to be in October in Paris
An international conference on umbilical cord blood transplants
will be held in Oct. 19-21 in Paris. Three days of sessions will
include stem cells from cord blood, mesenchymal cells, non-hematopoietic
stem cells, ex-vivo expansion, graft facilitation and homing and
cord blood banking.
Review analyzes advances in managing APL
The past three decades have brought major therapeutic advances in the management of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In the September issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, a review analyses published clinical trials that evaluate the role of hematopoietic cell transplantation across various stages of APL. The team of authors was led by Mohamed Kharfan-Dabaja, MD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.
New strategies for control of GVHD
New opportunities and strategies to improve control of graft-versus-host disease is the topic of the current issue of Blood and Marrow Transplant Reviews, currently enroute to ASBMT members and an additional 10,000 hematologists/oncologists. The review, which includes CME credit, addresses what many believe to be the thorniest problem in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It is based on a symposium at the 2007 BMT Tandem Meetings.
Marrow Foundation has new president
The former head of the Lance Armstrong Foundation takes helm of The Marrow Foundation, fund-raising
arm of the National Marrow Donor Program.
Take this month’s Clinical Challenge
Marrow or peripheral blood? Which stem cell source would you use for a 40-year-old man with CML who is about to undergo a myeloablative transplant from his HLA-matched brother? Take this month’s Clinical Challenge in the left-hand column above. |
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