| |
| February 2, 2009 |
| |
| If
you are unable to view these articles or access the links,
please visit the ASBMT Web Site at www.asbmt.org to read this
issue. To be removed from this distribution list, please see
instructions at bottom. |
| |
 |
Top
Stories |
| |
|
|
Clinical
Research |
| |
|
|
Biopharmaceutical News |
| |
|
|
Association
News |
| |
|
|
BMT Tandem Meetings |
| |
|
|
Calendar |
| |
|
|
Job &
Fellowship Connections |
| |
|
|
Monthly Journal |
| |
|
|
eNews
Archives |
|
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
BMT
Tandem Meetings
Feb. 11-15, 2009
Tampa, Florida |
| |
|
|
|
| |
 |
ASHI Standard for
Redundant HLA Typing
|
A new ASHI standard requires a second HLA typing of patient and donor prior to transplantation. Do you agree?
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
| Calendar |
• 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
Hematological Aspects of Autoimmune Diseases
European Hematology Association (EHA)
Feb. 13-15
Pallman Mandelieu Hotel
Mandelieu, France
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) and European School of Hematology (ESH)
April 3-5
Pullman Cannes Mandelieu 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
Focus on Lymphoid Malignancies
European Hematology Association (EHA) and European School of Hematology (ESH)
May 15-17
Nordic Hotel Forum
Tallinn, Estonia
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
7th Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Symposium
Cord Blood Forum
June 5-6
Los Angeles Airport Marriott
Los Angeles, California
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Top
Stories |
| |
|
Stem cells show promise in treating AIDS
A new technique shows promise in treating people suffering from AIDS, according to results presented at the Stem Cell World Congress. This technique involves isolating genes that curb the spread of HIV, introducing those genes into human stem cells in the laboratory and then transplanting the stem cells into a patient’s bone marrow. 
Scientists find embryonic origin of hematopoietic stem cells
Researchers have identified both the location where the majority of stem cells form in a mouse embryo and the developmental timeline for this formation. According to a report in the advance online edition of Nature, understanding what is happening in the embryo will help guide efforts to coax embryonic stem cells to produce mature hematopoietic stem cells.
Marrow stem cell transplant improves MS symptoms
By using bone marrow stem cell transplants to reset the immune system, researchers have reversed symptoms of multiple sclerosis in early stage patients. According to a report in the February issue of The Lancet Neurology, autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 21 patients ages 20 to 53 yielded improvement in 17 patients, after about three years, of at least one measure on a disability scale. |
| |
 A Word from President Helen Heslop, MD
Last month in a taxi on the way to the L.A. airport, I was checking e-mail on my iPhone and saw one from the National Marrow Donor Program communicating a new HLA standard from the ASHI standards committee.
ASHI is the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Its standard, effective January 2009, requires that prior to transplantation, HLA typing must be obtained on a second, independently collected specimen to confirm the HLA phenotype originally defined for the patient and the intended donor.
FACT standards require the use of an ASHI-accredited laboratory for tissue typing, so I was perturbed to find out that we would have to immediately operationalize processes for typing all recipients and family member donors on a second occasion. It was not clear how extensive the confirmatory typing needed to be, or if the requirement to type a recipient twice would delay an NMDP search.
I contacted the NMDP for clarification, and discovered that ASHI had enacted this standard to harmonize with its overseas counterpart, the European federation For Immunogenetics, and that the proposal had been posted for comments on the ASHI Web site for three months. Regrettably, the proposed new standard was not circulated to professional transplant societies such as ASBMT or to other standards groups such as FACT. Few of us routinely scan the ASHI Web site.
It goes without saying that safe practices for our patients are of paramount concern. It’s not clear, though, how this new standard would have averted any harm that ever has occurred to a transplant patient. In an era of fiscal constraints and insistence on evidence-based medicine, introduction of a new standard that is onerous for both patients and transplant centers should be justified by outcomes-based research.
Because general awareness of this new requirement has surfaced only in recent days, ASBMT leaders haven’t had an opportunity to consider it and the ramifications. What is your opinion?
You can use the interactive Reader Poll in the left column to convey your comments to members of the ASBMT Board of Directors who will be convening next week in Tampa.
– Helen
|
|
| |
| Clinical Research |
| |
Skin cells reprogrammed to produce sperm, eggs
Researchers at UCLA’s Broad Stem Cell Research Center have reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells to become germ line cells, capable of giving rise to sperm and eggs. By producing these stem cells from skin cells, researchers could produce eggs and sperm that are genetically related to the donor.
Gene that increases relapses in children with ALL identified
Abnormalities in a gene called IKZF1 increase the chances of relapse for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. According to a report in the Jan. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, children with these abnormalities are three times as likely to have a relapse than those without these abnormalities. This finding could lead to a genetic test to identify children with a high risk of relapse.
Bone marrow stem cells used to build artificial skin
When artificial skin made using natural materials and bone marrow-derived stem cells is attached to a patient, the stem cells differentiate into skin cells. According to a report in the December 2008 issue of Artificial Organs, this engineered skin grafted to burn wounds in pigs results in better healing, less wound contraction and better development of blood vessels.
|
| |
| Biopharmaceutical News |
| |
Osiris to submit marketing application for Prochymal
Osiris Therapeutics Inc. held a pre-Biologics License Application (BLA) meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration for Prochymal, used to treat graft-vs-host disease. As a result of this meeting, Osiris finalized the content and timing of its BLA submission for Prochymal. This is expected to be the first BLA submission for a stem-cell product.
Specialists approve use of multiple myeloma assay
The Binding Site in the United Kingdom has won full approval from specialists for use of its Freelite blood test. This assay is used to detect tumor markers known as free light chains in patients with multiple myeloma.
Cord blood processing system approved by FDA
BioE Inc. received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the PrepaCyte – CB Processing System, used to process umbilical cord blood. The technology, which will be available immediately to public and private cord blood banks, separates stem cells and other potentially therapeutic cells for transplantation in humans.
|
| |
| Association
News |
| |
Daniel Weisdorf will lead ASBMT in 2011
Daniel J. Weisdorf, MD, has been chosen by ballot among ASBMT members to be the society’s vice president. The election places him in line to assume the presidency two years from now. Dr. Weisdorf is a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, director of its Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, and is scientific director for the National Marrow Donor Program and senior research advisor for the CIBMTR.
Stephanie J. Lee, MD, MPH, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, was elected treasurer. Newly elected directors are Karen Ballen, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; James L. Gajewski, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, Portland; and James W. Young, MD, of Weill-Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. All will take office at the close of the BMT Tandem Meetings this month in Tampa.
ASBMT names next executive director
Thomas L. Joseph, an executive from the Society of Critical Care Medicine, has been selected to be the next ASBMT executive director, succeeding Alan Leahigh who will be retiring at the end of this year. Joseph joined the ASBMT staff in January and is serving as deputy executive director for the transition period. Leahigh has been the society’s only chief executive since its founding in 1993.
Review addresses transplants for MDS
A comprehensive evidence-based review of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for myelodysplastic syndrome appears in the February issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. The report is the latest in the series of evidence-based reviews for specific diseases. An ASBMT position statement and an editorial about cost reimbursement for MDS accompany the review.
Peripheral blood vs. bone marrow for transplants
The relative advantages of peripheral blood vs. bone marrow for transplantation are addressed in the newest course offering in ASBMT Online Seminars. Claudio Anasetti, MD, and Benjamin Djulbegovic, MD, both of the Moffitt Cancer Center, address “Allogeneic Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant vs. Bone Marrow Transplant of Hematological Malignancies.” Print out a certificate for an hour of Category 1 CME credit upon completion of the program and its evaluation.
NMDP celebrates 35,000 transplants
The National Marrow Donor Program celebrated its 35,000th transplant this past week. The frequency of unrelated allogeneic transplants continues to accelerate, with only 13 months having passed since reaching the 30,000 milestone. Unrelated bone marrow and cord blood transplants in 2008 increased nearly 18 percent over the previous year.
Nuclear terrorism preparation and response
A conference on “Nuclear Terrorism: Preparedness and Response for Hematology/Oncology Centers” will be presented May 18 in Bethesda, Md. The conference is sponsored by the Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN), a cooperative effort of ASBMT and the National Marrow Donor Program.
FDA seeks comments for tissue manufacturing guidance
The FDA is requesting comments on the Draft Guidance for Industry: Current Good Tissue Practice and Additional Requirements for Manufacturers of Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products. The deadline for comments is April 16.
169 transplant facilities now FACT-accredited
During the fourth quarter of 2008, six blood and marrow transplant programs achieved first-time FACT accreditation and 18 others earned accreditation renewals, according to the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy. A total of 169 transplant programs are now FACT accredited.
|
| |
| BMT Tandem Meetings |
| |
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 that will convene Feb. 11-15 in Tampa.
Record number of pre-registrants headed for Tampa
Pre-registration for the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings has exceeded last year’s record, when the meetings convened in San Diego. The scientific program, the agenda for parallel conferences, local transportation and other information are available online.
Meet colleagues at opening night Welcome Reception
Network with your colleagues from across the country and around the world at the Welcome Reception at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, at Channelside Bay Plaza, a short walk or trolley ride from the Tampa Convention Center. The outdoor plaza is a cluster of restaurants and entertainment venues encircling a central courtyard that will be open that evening only to BMT Tandem Meetings registrants.
ASBMT President’s Dinner on Saturday night
Join ASBMT President Helen Heslop to celebrate advances in the BMT field, announcements of research scholarships and presentations of Public Service and Liftetime Achievement awards. The dinner at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, will be at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel, across the street from the Tampa Convention Center. Limited-attendance tickets will be available first-come, first-served at the Registration Desk. The dinner is free to BMT Tandem Meetings registrants.
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, Feb. 14.
Annual meeting features new ‘Meet the Professors’ luncheons
An Orientation Session for fellows attending the 2009 BMT Tandem Meetings will be held during the opening-morning coffee break, Wednesday, Feb. 11. And new “Meet the Professors” luncheons for fellows and junior faculty will be held on Friday, Feb. 13. Internationally regarded authorities will lead case-based discussions of chronic GVHD and transplants for acute myeloid leukemia. Sign-up for first-come, first-served tickets at the meeting registration desk.
Jim Armitage to present Bortin Lecture
An authority on non-Hodgkin lymphoma, James Armitage, MD, will present the Mortimer M. Bortin Lecture at the BMT Tandem Meetings on Wednesday, Feb.11. Dr. Armitage, who founded the bone marrow transplant program at University of Nebraska Medical Center, will speak on the role of autotransplants after 50 years of research and clinical experience.
Els Goulmy to present Thomas Lecture
A leading authority on minor histocompatibility antigens will present the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture on Saturday, Feb. 14. Professor E.A.J.M. (Els) Goulmy, professor of transplant biology at Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, will speak on the basic characteristics and immune functions of minor histocompatibility antigens that can cause transplants to fail even when there is a perfect HLA match.
Need help with a statistical problem?
CIBMTR PhD biostatisticians will be available to provide one-on-one counsel at the annual meeting in Tampa. Stop by or arrange in advance for an appointment.
|
| |
|
