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| January 5, 2009 |
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Top
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Clinical
Research |
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Biopharmaceutical News |
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Association
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BMT Tandem Meetings |
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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. 11-15, 2009
Tampa, Florida |
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November’s Reader Poll
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Has your transplant center taken any steps to cope with the unfunded federal requirements for reporting of treatment outcomes?
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| Calendar |
• January
Mobilizing Cellular Immunity for Cancer Therapy
Keystone Symposia
Jan. 11-16
Snowbird Resort
Snowbird, Utah
Emerging Tumor Suppressors
Keystone Symposia
Jan. 25-29
Sagebrush Inn and Conference Center
Taos, New Mexico
Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2009
Jan. 26-28
The Grand Hyatt
Washington, D.C.
• February
BMT Tandem Meetings
Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings
Feb. 11-15
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida
13th Annual International Congress of Hematologic Malignancies: Focus on Leukemias, Lymphomas and Myelomas
Physicians’ Education Resource
Feb. 11-15
Fairmont Château Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Advanced Course in Basic and Clinical Immunology
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies
Feb. 18-22
Mondrian Hotel
Scottsdale, Arizona
The Stem Cells Congress: Contribution to the Future of Regenerative Medicine
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Feb. 25-27
Moscone North Convention Center
San Francisco, California
• March
Emergence to Convergence: Management of High Risk Donors and Recipients
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
22nd Annual Winter Symposium
March 4-5
Fairmont Banff Springs
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Regenerative Medicine: Advancing Next Generation Therapies
13th Annual Hilton Head Workshop
March 5-6
Sea Pines Resort
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Canadian Society of Transplantation (CST)
Annual Scientific Meeting
March 5-8
Fairmont Banff Springs
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Evolving Standards of Care for Hematologic Malignancies: Individualized Care Using Targeted Therapies and Stem Cell Transplantation
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
March 13-14
Anderson Conference Hall
Houston, Texas
Association of Community Cancer Centers
35th Annual Meeting
March 18-21
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
Acute Leukemia Forum 2009
Hemedicus
March 20
Parc 55 Hotel
San Francisco, California
Targeted Cancer Therapies
Keystone Symposia
March 27-April 1
Whistler Conference Centre
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB)
12th Annual Spring Conference
March 29-31
Disney World Swan & Dolphin
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
35th Annual Meeting
March 29-April 1
Göteborg Convention Centre
Göteborg, Sweden
• April
Leukemic and Cancer Stem Cells: Common and Distinct Features
European Hematology Association (EHA)
April 3-5
Pullman Cannes Mandelieu Royal Casino Hotel
Mandelieu, France
UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN)
Annual Science Meeting
April 6-8
University of Oxford
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
100th Annual Meeting
April 18-22
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, Colorado
Stem Cell Niche Interactions
Keystone Symposia
April 21-26
Fairmont Chateau Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPH/O)
22nd Annual Meeting
April 22-25
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
San Diego, California
• May
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
15th Annual Meeting
May 3-6
Sheraton San Diego Hotel
San Diego, California
American Society for Apheresis (ASFA)
30th Annual Meeting
May 20-23
Sheraton San Diego Hotel
San Diego, California
2nd International Congress on Leukemia-Lymphoma-Myeloma
Turkish Society of Hematology
May 21-24
WOW Convention Center
Istanbul, Turkey
American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT)
12th Annual Meeting
May 27-30
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
45th Annual Meeting
May 29-June 2
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida
American Transplant Congress
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
May 30-June 3
John B. Hynes Veteran Convention Center
Boston, Massachusetts
• June
European Hematology Association (EHA)
14th Congress
June 4-7
International Congress Center Berlin
Berlin, Germany
FOCIS 2009
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
June 11-14
San Francisco Marriott
San Francisco, California
2009 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference
University of Nebraska Medical Center
June 22-26
Fairmont Orchid
Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii
• July
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
6th Annual Meeting
July 8-11
Centre Convencions Internacional
Barcelona, Spain
Cryo 2009
Society for Cryobiology
46th Annual Meeting
July 19-23
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Japan
• September
International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH)
38th Annual Scientific Meeting
Sept. 9-12
Hotel Divani Caravel
Athens, Greece
American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB)
33rd Annual Meeting
Sept. 13-16
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
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| Top
Stories |
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Older patients fare well after stem cell transplant
Patients in their 60s who received stem cell transplants fared just as well as those in their 40s and 50s, indicating age alone shouldn’t prevent patients from receiving transplants. Age also did not vary outcome for transplant patients suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. 
UCSF receives $25 million for stem cell research
The stem cell research center at the University of California, San Francisco, has received a $25 million donation from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The donation is to be used to help finance construction of a $123 million laboratory building, which is to open in the summer of 2010.
Madoff fallout affects bone marrow foundation, hospital
The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System have been affected by Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme. The foundation relied on the Madoff Family Foundation for about one-third of its donor recruitment budget, and the health system had $5.7 million invested with Madoff.
Indiana to establish cord blood bank
Indiana soon may establish a state-run umbilical cord blood bank. The legislature has passed a bill that establishes a nonprofit corporation that will contract with a private institution to provide cord-blood banking services. |
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 A Word from President Helen Heslop, MD
Last year, when John Barrett was elected ASBMT vice president, putting him in line for president in 2010, I sent him an e-mail congratulating him on becoming our society’s first "English president."
You see, it was necessary for me to point out that the Mother Country was lagging behind its former colonies. He will be preceded in office by ASBMT presidents who trained in Canada (Allen Eaves), Australia (Armand Keating) and New Zealand (me). And before John picks up the reins in 2010, he will be immediately preceded by Claudio Anasetti, who graduated from medical school in Italy.
This representation of foreign medical graduates ("FMGs") within the society’s leadership is not an anomaly. It reflects the field.
In my transplant center, the seven attending physicians who trained at U.S. medical schools are counterbalanced by seven FMGs (two from New Zealand and one each from England, Germany, Portugal, India and Egypt). I think our international mix is fairly typical of U.S. transplant programs, and it reflects our field’s dependence on FMGs.
Workforce Issues
This past year, ASBMT has been focusing on workforce issues. James Gajewski presented some of our analyses at the December meeting of the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation. Among the conclusions were:
- A severe BMT workforce shortage is predicted for the years immediately ahead.
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Better data are needed about the existing BMT workforce, including compensation and work satisfaction.
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BMT trainees must be engaged at an earlier stage, and the outreach should include residents and hematology/oncology fellows.
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Greater use should be made of mid-level practitioners and foreign medical graduates.
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Subspecialty certification of BMT should be considered.
Certification
ASBMT is addressing all these issues, including subspecialty certification, which is being studied by a task force led by Linda Burns. This group will be weighing the pros and cons of subspecialty certification for U.S. medical school graduates who already have obtained certification in internal medicine or pediatrics followed by hematology/oncology certification.
A parallel issue is how BMT subspecialty certification might be provided for medical graduates who have completed their specialist training outside the United States. At present, FMGs can practice as transplant physicians in some states, but in others they have to redo residency and fellowship programs, and sit for internal medicine or pediatric boards to be credentialed.
The task force will be reporting its findings at a time when transformative changes in the U.S. health care system are likely to be occurring for purchasers, providers and professionals.
Although our society may have "American" in its name, there’s little question that we are quite international ... in scope ... in leadership ... in membership ... and in practice.
– Helen
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| Clinical Research |
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Artificial bone marrow created
Researchers have created artificial bone marrow that can continuously make both red and white blood cells. According to a report published in the online edition of Biomaterials, the marrow is designed to function in a test tube, where it grows on a three-dimensional scaffold that mimics the tissues supporting bone marrow in the body.
Healthy stem cells protected from leukemia cells
By blocking the signals leukemia cells use to lure healthy hematopoietic progenitor cells, researchers were able to protect the stem cells. According to a report in the Dec. 19 issue of Science, this process could help preserve healthy blood cells in people with leukemia.
Small population of stem cells remains dormant
Working in mice, scientists in Germany discovered that a small group of stem cells in the bone marrow remains dormant, only becoming active in case of injury or blood loss. According to reports in Cell and Cell Stem Cell, these cells constitute no more than about 15 percent of the whole stem cell population but, once awakened, show the highest potential for self-renewal.
Marrow stem cells could treat epidermolysis bullosa
Stem cells derived from bone marrow may be used to treat epidermolysis bullosa, according to a study in the advance online edition of Blood. When injected into mice with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, these specially selected cells diminished the disease process by increasing protein, anchoring fibrils and preventing blister formation. |
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| Biopharmaceutical News |
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Vidaza approved to treat patients in Europe
Celgene Corp. has received approval from the European Commission to use its drug Vidaza to treat myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. The drug is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat both conditions.
Genzyme receives approval to market Mozobil
Genzyme Corporation has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market Mozobil (plerixafor injection). This drug is designed to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream for collection and subsequent autologous transplantation in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The product has been granted orphan drug designation.
Rituxan and chemotherapy improve CLL patient survival
Using Rituxan from Genentech in combination with chemotherapy to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia reduces the risk of death or cancer progression by 41 percent. Results from two clinical trials show a median progression-free survival of 42.8 months and, in patients who had stopped responding to chemotherapy, reduced risk of death or cancer progression by 35 percent.
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| Association
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HRSA panel endorses coverage for MDS
The HRSA Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation has endorsed the use of allogeneic transplantation for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The council will urge the HHS secretary to refer the issue to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for high priority review of national Medicare coverage.
Online voting under way for officers, directors
For the first time, the annual election of ASBMT officers and directors is being conducted online instead of by mailed paper ballot. Members qualified to vote in the election were sent instructions by broadcast e-mail on Dec. 30. The ballot deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 28.
Interim cord blood standards published
NetCord and FACT have released interim standards for the third edition of the International Standards for Cord Blood Collection, Processing, Testing, Banking, Selection and Release. The changes to the previously published standards address the collection of unrelated cord blood units at non-fixed collection sites.
Cord blood licensure workshop planned
AABB will be sponsoring a workshop on cord blood licensure issues in collaboration with the FDA, HRSA, FACT/NetCord, the National Marrow Donor Program and ASBMT. The timing will depend on the release of the FDA’s guidance document. If you are interested in participating, the planning committee would like to hear from you by Jan. 19.
2009 version of RFI forms released
The 2009 update of the ASBMT Request for Information (RFI) has been released, and the interactive forms are available online. The RFI is used for submitting transplant program data and information to third-party payers when they request it.
Brochure promotes careers in transplantation
A new brochure presents career opportunities in hematopoietic cell transplantation to young clinicians and investigators. Included are brief testimonials from several physicians who recently joined the field.
Education Book accompanies this month’s BBMT
The Education Book for the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings is published as a supplement to the January issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Sixteen chapters with 34 articles have been prepared by faculty of sessions at next month’s meetings in Tampa.
Membership grows to record 1,533
ASBMT membership reached 1,533 at the end of 2008, continuing 12 consecutive years of growth. The active Member category saw the largest increase, growing at an annual rate of 5 percent. Health professionals outside the United States and Canada comprise 15 percent of ASBMT members.
Clinical research training course will return to Park City
The ASBMT Clinical Research Training Course for fellows-in-training and junior faculty will return to Park City, Utah, in 2009. Applications are being accepted through March 1 for the course that will be held July 15-20.
MDS foundation offers research grants
The deadline is Feb. 27 for the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation’s 2009 Research Grant Program, offering financial support for research that leads to new insights into the causes of bone marrow failure and the development of new therapeutic approaches. Established as well as new investigators in bone marrow disease can apply for the two-year, $60,000 award.
FOCIS abstract deadline is Jan. 14
The abstract deadline is Jan. 14 for FOCIS 2009, the annual meeting of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies, which will convene June 11-14 in San Francisco. Travel awards are available for top-ranked abstracts.
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| BMT Tandem Meetings |
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Late-breaking “hot topics” at BMT Tandem Meetings
Genetic risks for post-transplant infections, immunosuppressive characteristics of dendritic cells and a potential cure of HIV infection following allogeneic transplant are “hot topics” that have been added to the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings, which will convene Feb. 11-15 in Tampa.
Agenda is online for 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings
Last week, while much of the country was gripped by bitter winter weather, Tampa had daily highs in the range of 76 to 83 degrees – a fine time for making final preparations to attend the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings. The scientific program can be viewed online.
Housing deadline is Jan. 7 for annual meeting
Jan. 7 is the deadline for hotel reservations at group rates for the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings. After that, accommodations are on a space-available basis.
Annual meeting to feature ‘Meet the Professor’ lunches
Fellows and junior faculty attending the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings will have a new opportunity for informal discussions with experts in areas of BMT patient management. Each lunch session will be led by two internationally regarded authorities using a case-based discussion of a topic such as chronic GVHD and transplants for acute myeloid leukemia. Sign-up will be at the on-site meeting registration desk.
Medical directors to focus on outcomes reporting
Participants in the Medical Directors Conference at this year’s BMT Tandem Meetings will receive an update on the collection, analysis and reporting of transplant center-specific treatment outcomes. The ongoing development of the Stem Cell Transplant Outcomes Database (SCTOD) will be discussed at the conference on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 14.
Els Goulmy to present Thomas Lecture
A leading authority on minor histocompatibility antigens will present the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture at the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings on Saturday evening, Feb. 14. Professor E.A.J.M. (Els) Goulmy, professor of transplant biology at Leiden University Medical Centre in The Netherlands, will speak on the basic characteristics and immune functions of minor histocompatibility antigens, which can cause transplants to fail even when there is a perfect HLA match.
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