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| October 1, 2007 |
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BMT
Tandem Meetings
Feb. 13-17, 2008
San Diego, California |
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| Calendar |
• 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
2nd Annual Translational Stem Cell Research Conference
New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF)
Oct. 15-16
Rockefeller University
New York, New York
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
Clinical Trial Design in Clinical and Translational Research
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) with Genome Institute of Singapore
Nov. 2-3
The Biopolis
Singapore
Centennial Conference: Translational Cancer Medicine
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Nov. 4-8
Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Singapore
Shanghai International Symposium on Stem Cell Research
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIBS/CAS), with the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
Nov. 6-9
Shanghai Science Hall
Shanghai, China
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
International Congress on Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center
Nov. 13-15
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
19th Asia Pacific Cancer Conference
Iranian Bone Marrow Transplantation Society
Nov. 15-17
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Tehran, Iran
The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)
Nov. 27-30
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Atlanta, Georgia |
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| Top
Stories |
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Cord blood transplants linked to sickle cell cures
Children with sickle cell disease were cured following umbilical cord blood transplants from their siblings, according to a report at the 35th annual meeting of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and the National Institutes of Health. Of 43 youths ages 2 to 15 who received transplants from compatible siblings, 90 percent were cured. They had suffered from either sickle cell disease or thalassemia.
Gene identified that controls blood cell production
All blood cell production in human adults depends on a gene called MLL (mixed lineage leukemia). According to a report in the Sept. 13 issue of Cell Stem Cell, the gene acts in bone marrow stem cells and controls key aspects of their growth to generate all the mature blood cells. Loss of this gene results in early bone marrow failure.
Connecticut stem cell fund receives 87 funding requests
A program to fund adult and embryonic stem cell research in Connecticut has received 87 preliminary requests seeking nearly $45 million for research projects. The program will award $10 million in funds a year for the next eight years.
Trounson to lead California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Australian Alan Trounson has been chosen to lead the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, effective at the end of this year. He currently is director of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash University in Melbourne, where he heads immunology and stem cell laboratories with 120 people, 50 PhD students and 30 principal or senior investigators. |
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 A Word from President Robert Soiffer, MD
October has to be my favorite month. Here in New England, the green leaves have started to turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. The hot, humid days of summer are a fading memory, and visions of bitter cold and snow shoveling still seem a long way off.
The school year is now in full swing. New house officers and fellows no longer appear shell-shocked, and they retain their exuberance and enthusiasm as we watch their confidence and competence grow. Football season is well under way, with basketball and hockey seasons poised to start. But above all, for me, October means one thing: the World Series.
I love baseball. I always have. Despite the fact that I was a mediocre hitter, couldn’t throw and was slow as molasses, I still loved playing as a kid. With my playing days long behind me (although I am still available if there are any scouts reading this), I remain a rabid fan. Those who know me well know where my club allegiance lies. Although we may root for different teams, baseball fans all share a love of the game and, in particular, its history. That’s why there is so much attention being paid to allegations of performance-enhancing drugs like androgens and human growth hormone being used by some of baseball’s marquee players.
In contrast to some other professional sports, where rules have been altered over the years to attract audiences, baseball has remained remarkably constant, which has elevated certain records to a kind of hallowed status. Armchair experts like me evaluate statistics of different players from different eras to decide who is the better hitter, slugger or pitcher. Still, despite the fact that the rules have remained the same, there are many intangibles that make it difficult to compare the skill of one group with another.
Yet, that is exactly what we in the American transplant community are going to need to do soon. I am not talking about anything as trivial as baseball statistics, but rather the reporting of center-specific allogeneic transplant outcomes data mandated by recent federal legislation. The motivation behind this mandate is well-intentioned, and is designed to ultimately improve outcome quality and assist patients and referring physicians in choosing transplant centers. The CIBMTR has been selected to compile, analyze and report the data transmitted by all U.S. centers. CIBMTR’s experience and skill make it the natural choice for this task, and ASBMT firmly supports its efforts.
This will not be an easy task. It will take considerable effort to achieve timely and accurate central transmission of data. Also, caution must be exercised in the analysis and interpretation of these data. Simply reporting survival data for particular malignancies will not be sufficient. To gain an accurate assessment of a center’s performance, we must go beyond diagnosis, stage, age, donor source, etc., as variables in constructing an appropriate system for weighting transplant risk. We must also consider co-morbidity scores and, perhaps more importantly, the biology (cytogenetics, molecular mutations, etc.) of the diseases we transplant in assigning outcome risk.
ASBMT is committed to providing substantial input to CIBMTR as plans move forward to collect and report center-specific outcomes data. A national “report card” of this kind could discourage some centers, rightly or wrongly, from offering transplantation to motivated patients with a relatively low (10%-20%) likelihood of cure. More ominously, it would be a disservice to patients if investigators were discouraged from undertaking innovative, perhaps higher-risk, clinical trials for fear of receiving negative marks on their center’s evaluation.
ASBMT will be asking for input from you, our members, as this undertaking moves forward so that when these reports do ultimately emerge, we can all feel that clinically important variables have been fully considered so that our patients are optimally served.
– Rob
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| Clinical Research |
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 Subset of cancer stem cells causes metastasis
A subset of stem cell-like tumor cells governs metastasis of pancreatic tumors and renders the tumor resistant to chemotherapeutic agents, according to a report in the Sept. 13 issue of Cell Stem Cell. These cells expressed the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and, when injected into mice, formed both primary tumors and metastases. But when they were preincubated with antibodies to CXCR4, they remained tumorigenic but lost the ability to metastasize.
Testicular cells hold promise to provide stem cells
Spermatogonial progenitor cells from the testes of mice can be reprogrammed to form multipotent adult spermatogonial-derived stem cells, which then formed functional blood vessels and contractile cardiac tissue. According to a report in the Sept. 20 issue of Nature, researchers identified a cell surface marker on spermatogonial stem and progenitor cells that enabled them to identify and harvest a large number of these from adult mouse testes.
T cells can be re-engineered to kill B cells
Administering repeated doses of T cells designed to express an artificial receptor that recognizes lethal human B cells eradicated cancer in 44 percent of mice with human acute lymphoblastic leukemia tumors. According to a report in the Sept. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, this technique uses a patient’s own T cells, minimizing compatibility issues or rejection.
Stem cell therapy for kidney disease has questionable results
Researchers in France have determined that high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant to treat AL amyloidosis disease does not increase survival over the standard-dose melphalan plus dexamethasone chemotherapy. According to a report in the Sept. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, studies of two groups with 50 patients each showed no major difference in survival after three years.
Mesenchymal stem cells reduce damage from liver failure
In rats with liver failure, treatment with molecules secreted by mesenchymal stem cells lessened inflammation and halted cell death. According to a report published Sept. 26 in PLoS ONE, cycling the blood of these rats through an external bioreactor containing these stem cells also greatly reduced signs of liver failure, and boosted survival rates from 14% to 71%. |
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| Biopharmaceutical News |
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Study demonstrates drug’s efficacy in treating ALL
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a supplemental biologics license application for Campath (alemtuzumab) and granted regular approval for single-agent Campath for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The drug, produced by Genzyme Corp. and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., was initially approved in 2001 under accelerated approval regulations. The FDA has determined that the study results submitted in the application fulfill the post- marketing commitment to verify clinical benefit.
Velcade shows positive results in treating multiple myeloma
Because of better than expected interim results, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. has stopped a late-stage study of its cancer drug Velcade for multiple myeloma. In combination with melphalan and prednisone, the drug showed positive results in several areas of the Phase III clinical trial. Millennium plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve Velcade as a first-line treatment for multiple myeloma.
Aranesp provides positive results in treating anemia
Results from a Phase 2 trial indicate Amgen Inc.’s anemia drug Aranesp was just as effective as weekly doses when dosing was extended and paired with chemotherapy. Results from two combined patient level analyses also suggest that patients treated with Aranesp experienced a decrease in blood transfusions and improvement in hematologic response.
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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. After that date, standard registration rates apply. 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. Seventy-eight authors whose abstracts receive the highest scores from the review committees will be invited to give oral presentations. Other accepted abstracts will receive poster invitations. ASBMT will provide travel grants of $1,000 each to young investigators whose abstracts are accepted for oral presentation.
Dues statements to be mailed Oct. 20
ASBMT members received an e-mail last week, inviting online payment of 2008 dues — thereby eliminating themselves from the annual mailing of dues statements on Oct. 20. Member and Associate Member dues are $175. Affiliate Member dues are $125.
Investigator award renewed for Moffitt scientist
The recipient of a New Investigator Award from ASBMT and PDL BioPharma has submitted a mid-project progress report on his research concerning the function of Tregs and T-effector cells.
Five research grants available to young investigators
Research grants of $60,000 each are available to young investigators, sponsored by ASBMT in cooperation with HistoGenetics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., PDL BioPharma and Pharmion Corporation. A single application provides access to all five 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 October and November, 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.
Second malignancies after allo-HCT
Primary care and transplant physicians alike must be aware of the risk of second malignancies after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Investigators at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center provide a review of the literature on second malignancies in the October issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Take this month’s Clinical Challenge
A 38-year-old man has weight loss and worsening skin, oral and liver abnormalities after two weeks of prednisone therapy for chronic GVHD. What would you recommend? Take this month’s Clinical Challenge in the left-hand column above. |
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