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

Scientists say new stem cell methods uncertain for treatment
Despite recent breakthroughs in creating embryonic-like stem cells without making or destroying human embryos, leading researchers at Harvard and other universities still believe that cloning of human embryos represents the key to developing effective treatments for an array of diseases. Although new reprogramming techniques are all but certain to yield giant advances in researching disease, they remain far too dangerous for actual treatment, the scientists say.

Microchip can help detect circulating tumor cells
A microchip that can isolate, count and analyze circulating tumor cells from a blood sample may offer a new tool for helping doctors detect cancer. The device, developed by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has microscopic posts that are coated with antibodies that recognize cancer cells.

Chinese bone marrow program reaches 700,000 donors
Donors to the China Marrow Donor Program reached a record 700,000 in December. Program director Hong Junling attributes the rise to Chinese people's deeper understanding of marrow donation and increasing support from the government in recent years.

ASH highlights new stem cell, marrow transplantation strategies
Innovative strategies are improving the success of stem cell and bone marrow transplantation. Presentations given at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology highlighted improved outcomes as a result of a new treatment regimen for children with a specific form of leukemia, new ways to increase the number of specialized stem cells harvested from bone marrow before transplantation, and efforts to expand stem cell transplantation among patients older than 55.

 Stem cell identified that could be source of all blood cells
Identification of a multipotent progenitor cell, the initial source of blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow, could lead to new treatments for blood cancers and other blood diseases. According to research in the Dec. 13 issue of Cell Stem Cell, a mutation in this cell may cause acute myelogenous leukemia.

 Cord blood effective for certain inherited metabolic disorders
Umbilical cord blood transplants, even from unrelated donors, can help save the lives of babies with certain inherited metabolic disorders. According to research presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, among 159 children treated between 1995 and 2007, more than 88 percent who got cord blood transplants before they began to show too many symptoms of illness lived for at least a year.

 Skin cells converted to induced pluripotent stem cells
Using skin cells from a volunteer, researchers were able to produce embryonic-like stem cells. According to a report in the Dec. 23 issue of Nature, scientists produced induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. This is the third team of researchers to convert skin cells into stem cells.

 Researchers induce unfertilized eggs to develop stem cells
Using parthenogenesis, researchers have chemically induced an egg into developing without first being fertilized by sperm. According to a report in Cloning & Stem Cells, the stem cells these researchers have created look and act like embryonic stem cells.

 Otsuka Pharmaceutical acquires rights to IV Busulfex
For $200 million, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. acquired the rights to IV Busulfex (busulfan) from PDL BioPharma Inc. These rights include trademarks, patents, intellectual property and related assets. IV Busulfex is used for conditioning before allogeneic hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation.

  Agenda is online for 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings
Final preparations are under way for the BMT Tandem Meetings, Feb. 13-17 in San Diego. The scientific program includes sessions on aging, amyloidosis, cancer stem cells, chronic GVHD, genomics, graft failure, immune reconstitution, memory T-cells, tolerance, controversies in transplants for lymphoma and many other current topics.

  Housing deadline is Jan. 11 for San Diego
Jan. 11 is the deadline for hotel reservations at group rates for the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings. After that, accommodations are on a space-available basis. The housing blocks at the Manchester Grand Hyatt headquarters and three other convention hotels are sold out except for last-minute cancellations. Three additional hotels were brought on line in December to accommodate the expected attendance of more than 2,200.

  Travel grants awarded to 40 young investigators
The ASBMT Board of Directors has announced 40 travel grants of $1,000 each for young clinicians and investigators who will be traveling to San Diego in February for the BMT Tandem Meetings. Grants are being awarded to young investigators presenting oral abstracts at the meetings.

  Medicare billing for cell processing services
Beginning this month, CPT codes for cell processing are being recognized for payment under Medicare and Medicaid. The details and implications will be presented in a session of the BMT Center Administrators Conference during the 2008 BMT Tandem Meetings.

  Medical directors to focus on outcomes reporting
Participants in the Medical Directors Conference at this year’s BMT Tandem Meetings will be given an up-to-the-minute look at how the transplant community is responding to the new federal law requiring the reporting of allogeneic stem cell transplant outcomes to the Stem Cell Transplant Outcomes Database (SCTOD).

  Final call for IT Summit on outcomes reporting
Speakers and workshop facilitators have been announced for the national conference to help transplant centers comply with the new federal requirements for reporting outcomes of allogeneic stem cell transplants. The conference, Jan. 18-19 in Minneapolis, is designed specifically for transplant center information technology personnel, data managers and administrators.

  ASBMT training course set for July in Park City
This year's ASBMT Clinical Research Training Course for fellows-in-training and junior faculty is scheduled for July 23-29 in Park City, Utah. The application deadline is March 1.

  Ballots for officers, directors are in the mail
The ballots for the annual election of ASBMT officers and directors were mailed on Friday last week. Completed ballots must be returned by Monday, Jan. 28.

  Membership grows 5% to record 1,508
ASBMT membership climbed 5% during 2007. Increases occurred in all categories: Member, Associate Member, Affiliate Member and In-Training Member. Health professionals outside the United States and Canada comprise 13% of ASBMT members.

  NMDP has facilitated 30,000 transplants
The number of patients who have received a bone marrow or cord blood transplant through the National Marrow Donor Program surpassed 30,000 in December. Nearly half of the transplants currently facilitated by the NMDP involve either an international donor or patient.

  155 transplant facilities now FACT accredited
During the third and fourth quarters of 2007, one blood and marrow transplant program achieved first-time FACT accreditation and nine others earned accreditation renewals, according to the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy. A total of 155 transplant centers are now FACT accredited.

  BBMT eliminates annual printed index
The annual index of authors and topics, usually included in the December issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, was not published for 2007. BBMT has joined with many other scientific and medical journals that have ceased publication of a year-end index because readers do most of their literature searches online.

  Guidelines offered for HLA matching for cord blood
This month’s Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation features a state-of-the-art review of HLA matching for unrelated donor umbilical cord blood transplants. Offered are guidelines for cord blood unit selection, including suggested data points for refining searches for minimal and optimal units.

  Aplastic anemia and MDS research grants
Both new and established investigators in bone marrow disease are invited to apply for two-year grants of $30,000 per year, sponsored by the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. The deadline is Feb. 28.

  Online support for BMT patient caregivers
The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link has a new Web site with support for BMT patients and caregivers. Included is a newly archived Webcast for spouses of patients by Michelle Bishop, PhD, of the University of Florida.

  Take this month’s Clinical Challenge
A 54-year-old man with AML in CR2 has falling donor chimerism four months after a reduced-intensity conditioning transplant. Decide what you would do in this month’s Clinical Challenge in the left-hand column above.