BMT Tandem Meetings
Feb. 13-17, 2008
San Diego, California

CMS will not change clinical trials coverage policy
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not further restrict coverage for clinical trials funded by the federal government or conducted under Food and Drug Administration review. In a memo issued Oct. 17, CMS said, "After careful consideration, the Agency has decided that no change...is appropriate at this time and therefore, we are not imposing any additional conditions of coverage." ASBMT and other medical organizations urged CMS not to restrict payments for patient care in clinical trials.

50th anniversary of first medical use of stem cells
Fifty years ago, Dr. E. Donnall Thomas was the first physician to use stem cells for medical purposes. The pioneering work involved injecting patients with bone marrow cells in an attempt to treat leukemia and other blood disorders. For his clinical work with Dr. Joseph Murray, which led to the development of bone marrow transplantation, Dr. Thomas won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1990.

Massachusetts approves funding for stem cell research
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has approved distribution of more than $8 million to establish a new stem cell bank and registry at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. The board approved another $12 million in future matching research grants for area scientists working in a number of fields within the life-sciences sector.

Institute allows storage, donation of umbilical cord blood
In Pittsburgh, a public-private umbilical cord blood collection service is being offered through Magee-Womens Hospital. Through this service, mothers will be able to bank their baby’s cord blood for their use, donate it for public use or give it to the Magee-Womens Research Institute for scientific research.

Funds pledged to establish public cord blood bank in Australia
A $2.3 million grant will allow construction to begin on the first public cord blood bank in western Australia. The bank, which is scheduled to be completed in 2009, would collect cord blood from the placenta and umbilical cord of mothers who give their consent and would provide it free of charge to patients needing cord blood transplants.

  Court rejects appeal to stop stem cell vote in New Jersey
Opponents in New Jersey lost an appeal to stop voters from deciding whether to borrow $450 million for embryonic stem cell research. The appeals court rejected claims that the ballot question improperly failed to explain that the money allegedly would fund human cloning and be paid back through property taxes.

  Thalidomide boosts myeloma survival in elderly patients
Treatment with thalidomide extended survival by about 20 months in elderly patients suffering from myeloma, according to a report in the Oct. 6 issue of The Lancet. When thalidomide was added to the standard regimen of chemotherapy and treatment with melphalan and prednisone, patients who received thalidomide lived on average nearly 52 months, versus 33 months for those on standard therapy.

  Pluripotency marker not involved in regulation of adult cells
The octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4), thought to be a marker of pluripotency in embryonic and adult stem cells, is not involved in adult stem cell regulation. According to a report in the Oct. 11 issue of Cell Stem Cell, adult stem cells from tissues tested in the lab -- including liver, skin, intestine, brain and bone marrow – regenerated adequately in the absence of this factor.

  Scientists to test stem cell use during hip replacement
A research team in the United Kingdom has received a grant of 130,000 pounds from the UK Stem Cell Foundation and the Medical Research Council to perform preliminary experiments that will pave the way for a clinical trial in 2008 on second hip replacements. The scientists are to test a process to harvest a patient’s stem cells and use them to seed new growth in the bone chips added to the hip joint before implantation of a second artificial hip.

  Osiris beginning Phase III trial of Prochymal
Osiris Therapeutics Inc. has initiated a Phase III trial evaluating Prochymal as a first-line agent in the treatment of acute graft vs. host disease (GVHD). Among other findings, a Phase II trial with 32 patients resulted in complete remission of GVHD within 28 days in 77 percent of patients treated with the drug.

  FDA approves cord blood processing system
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the AXP AutoXPress Platform from ThermoGenesis Corp., an automated device that isolates and captures stem cells from umbilical cord blood. The FDA clearance covers the complete AXP Platform, including the hardware device, docking station and software.

  Eight research grants available to young investigators
Research grants of $60,000 each are available to new investigators from ASBMT in cooperation with Genentech, Genzyme Corporation, Pfizer Inc. and Pharmion. A single application provides access to these and four previously announced awards totaling $480,000. The deadline is Nov. 30.

  Survey documents IT readiness for outcomes reporting
A survey of transplant center resources for collecting, storing, retrieving and transmitting data on treatment outcomes has been completed by the ASBMT Quality Outcomes Committee.

  63% increase for marrow collection reimbursement
The federal agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid has announced a 60 percent increase in payment for bone marrow collection and related procedures in 2008.

  Medicare and Medicaid to recognize cell processing codes
Beginning in January, Medicare and Medicaid will begin recognizing the CPT codes for hematopoietic stem cell processing. It will be important for transplant centers and laboratories to accurately bill for these procedures, ASBMT officials say.

  Transplant centers prepare for radiation incident
Representatives of hematopoietic cell transplant centers and government agencies met in Bethesda in late September for a day-long symposium on the health effects and medical management of the victims of a possible nuclear event.

  Record pre-registration for 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings
As of the Oct. 9 early registration deadline, pre-registration for the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings in San Diego set a record, surpassing even the early registration for the 2006 meetings in Honolulu. Next year’s meetings will be Feb. 13-17 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. Visit the ASBMT Web site for online registration and housing reservations.

  New edition of membership directory mailed
The 2007-2008 ASBMT Membership Directory has been mailed to all members of the Society. The directory includes 387 members who have joined since the last edition, plus more than 1,200 changes of mailing addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. The directory is supported by a grant from Amgen Oncology.

  This month in Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
This month’s issue of BBMT includes:
    • A report on the State of the Science Symposium organized by the BMT Clinical Trails Network, held last June in Ann Arbor. Included are 11 high-priority clinical trails that the network plans to pursue over the next several years.
    • Abstracts from the 5th Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Symposium, held last May in Los Angeles.
    • A review of Allogeneic Transplant Using Mismatched/Haploidentical Donors, including recent advances in therapy that have significantly decreased early transplant-related mortality and GVHD.

  ASH attendees to hear about HCT clinical research
A report on the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 2007 State of the Science Symposium, held last June in Ann Arbor, will be presented in a symposium at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Atlanta. Sponsored by the Medical College of Wisconsin and the National Marrow Donor Program, the symposium will be from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in the Sidney Marcus Auditorium of the Georgia World Congress Center.

  Caregivers guide updated and reissued
A new edition of Caregivers’ Guide for Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant: Practical Perspectives has been published by the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link. A free sample copy can be ordered online.

  Third-party billing introduced on Job Connection
The Job Connection and Fellowship Connection on the ASBMT Web site have a new feature that allows employers to identify a third party as the contact for billing and receipts. Currently there are 42 employment opportunities listed in the Job Connection.

  Research award renewed for work with T regulatory cells
The recipient of an ASBMT/Astellas New Investigator Award, working at the Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, has submitted a mid-project progress report on his pre-clinical research with human T regulatory cells.

  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 November and December, annual dues are waived for new trainees who apply for membership in the Society. The program is made possible again this year by a grant from PDL BioPharma, Inc.

  Take this month’s Clinical Challenge
Select an unrelated donor for transplant in this month’s Clinical Challenge in the left-hand column above.