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| October 1, 2009 |
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| Calendar |
• October
Inaugural ISCT Australasian Regional Meeting
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
Oct. 17
University of South Australia
Adelaide, Australia
Cytokines 2009: Cellular and Cytokine Interactions in Health and Disease
International Cytokine Society (ICS)
Oct. 17-21
Lisbon Convention Center
Lisbon, Portugal
American Society for
Human Genetics (ASHG)
59th Annual Meeting
Oct. 20-24
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
Ninth Cooley's Anemia Symposium
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
Oct. 21-24
New York Academy of Sciences
New York, New York
Ninth Cooley's Anemia Symposium
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
Oct. 21-24
New York Academy of Sciences
New York, New York
Lymphoma and Myeloma 2009: An International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies
Imedex
Oct. 22-24
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
New York, New York
Myelodysplastic Syndromes
European School of Hematology
Oct. 22-25
Pullman Mandelieu Hotel
Mandelieu, France
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
2009 Annual Meeting
Oct. 24-27
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans, Louisiana
World Conference on Regenerative Medicine
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology
Oct. 29-31
Congress Centre Leipzig
Leipzig, Germany
• November
International Workshop on the Biology, Prevention and Treatment of Relapse after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Nov. 2-3
Natcher Auditorium
Bethesda, Maryland
American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI)
35th Annual Meeting
Nov. 2-6
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, California
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
22nd Annual Council Meeting
Nov. 5-7
Hilton Minneapolis Hotel
Minneapolis, Minnesota
5th International Congress on Myeloproliferative Diseases and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Imedex
Nov. 5-7
Marriott New York – Brooklyn Bridge
New York, New York
European Society of Gene Therapy (ESGT)
17th Annual Congress
Nov. 21-25
Convention Centre at Hannover Fairground
Hanover, Germany
2nd International Congress on Responsible Stem Cell Research
European School of Haematology (ESH) and Eurocord
Nov. 26-28
Auditorium Rainier III
Monaco
• December
American Society of Hematology (ASH)
51st Annual Meeting
Dec. 5-8
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans, Louisiana
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
49th Annual Meeting
Dec. 5-9
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
2010
• January
Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2010
Jan. 25-27
The Grand Hyatt
Washington, D.C.
• February
Hematological Aspects of Autoimmune Diseases
European Hematology Association (EHA)
Feb. 13-15
Pallman Mandelieu Hotel
Mandelieu, France
Stem Cell Differentiation and Dedifferentiation
Keystone Symposia
Feb. 15-20
Keystone Conference Center
Keystone, Colorado
BMT Tandem Meetings
Combined ASBMT and CIBMTR annual meetings
Feb. 24-28
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida
Advanced Course in Basic and Clinical Immunology
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies
Feb. 24-28
Mondrian Hotel
Scottsdale, Arizona
• March
Clinical Practice Guidelines and Quality Cancer Care
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
March 10-14
Westin Diplomat
Hollywood, Florida
Annual Winter Symposium: Management Promoting a Healthy Relationship with the Allograft
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
March 11-14
Rancho Las Palmas
Rancho Mirage, California
Association of Community Cancer Centers
36th Annual Meeting
March 17-20
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
Baltimore, Maryland
European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
36th Annual Meeting
March 21-24
Austria Center Vienna
Vienna, Austria
• April
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPH/O)
23rd Annual Meeting
April 7-10
Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Acute Leukemia Forum 2010 Advances and Controversies in the Biology and Therapy of Acute Leukemia and Myelodysplasia
Hemedicus Acute Leukemia Forum
April 9
Parc 55
San Francisco, California
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
101th Annual Meeting
April 17-21
Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
• May
American Transplant Congress
American Society of Transplantation (AST)
May 1-5
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
Immunology 2010
American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
May 7-11
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, Maryland
American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
13th Annual Meeting
May 17-22
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, D.C.
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
16th Annual Meeting
May 22-26
Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American Society for Apheresis (ASFA)
30th Annual Meeting
May 26-29
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana
• June
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
46th Annual Meeting
June 4-8
McCormick Place
Chicago, Illinois
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| Top
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Chemotherapy safety standards issued
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) have collaborated to develop the first national standards for the safe administration of chemotherapy drugs, focused on the adult population in the ambulatory setting. 
Study finds private cord blood banking not cost-effective
Private umbilical cord blood banking is cost-effective only for families with a child with a very high likelihood of needing a stem cell transplant. According to a report in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the cost is more than $1.37 million per life-year gained.
Pediatric immunodeficiency responds to monoclonal antibodies
Using monoclonal antibodies instead of high-dose chemotherapy allows children born with immunodeficiencies to avoid much of the toxicity caused by chemotherapy. According to a report in the Sept. 12 issue of The Lancet, these antibodies targeted only the immune cells that cause rejection and did not affect other body tissues. This regimen can pave the way for a stem cell transplant without causing later problems with growth, puberty or infertility.
Obama offers erroneous anecdote about stem cell transplant
Seeking to make an argument for health insurance reform in an address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama misstated the facts in the case of a stem cell transplant. He said that a cancer patient was dropped by his insurer when an unreported gallstone was discovered, and that the patient died because of lack of treatment. In fact, the patient’s insurance was reinstated within three weeks and he survived for nearly four more years.
ASCO brings annual meeting to Chicago for next 10 years
For the next 10 years, the American Society of Clinical Oncology will hold its annual meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago. The meeting this year in Orlando had more than 29,000 attendees.
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 A Word from President Claudio Anasetti, MD
Has there ever been a time when health care so thoroughly dominated our country’s public or political agendas? While Congress is drafting legislation to expand coverage to those who are uninsured and underinsured, many hematology patients and their families can attest to the difficulties and consequences of not having public or private insurance that adequately covers stem cell transplants.
The barriers that they face were itemized in a report to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation, delivered last week by Richard Champlin, MD, ASBMT founding president. He spoke both as a member of the Advisory Council and as chair of its work group that is identifying barriers to transplant and offering recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Champlin noted that some health plans exclude stem cell transplantation for any disease, while others do not reimburse for certain indications.
Public Programs
For example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) currently has no national policy authorizing allogeneic stem cell transplantation for:
- myelodysplastic syndromes
- myeloproliferative diseases
- lymphomas
- inborn errors of metabolism involving hematopoietic tissues
- hemoglobinopathies
CMS also has no policy authorizing reimbursement for donor search, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing or acquisition of a stem cell product.
There are other barriers, such as those facing Medicaid patients with cancer who reside in states that don’t have a major transplant center. Most transplant centers don’t accept out-of-state Medicaid.
And there’s always the perennial problem of cost shifting, caused by Medicare and Medicaid underpayment that pushes costs onto private payers and insurers.
Private Programs
The shortcomings of many private plans are well known. Few patients with a catastrophic illness can afford the cost of a stem cell transplant. Private programs that are patterned after public plans frequently don’t adequately cover transplants and often have no coverage for HLA typing, donor search, donor transplant acquisition and after-transplant care.
Many insurers also don’t provide benefits for routine medical care of cancer patients who participate in clinical trials, although trials provide access to leading-edge therapies and the best care. The rationale for these denials is puzzling. So-called standard care is often known to be relatively ineffective, and there is no evidence that routine procedures are more expensive inside a clinical trial. Medical care cannot advance without clinical trial research.
An executive memorandum from the President in 2000 ordered CMS to reimburse routine medical expenses of patients enrolled in clinical cancer trials, but access to trials remains inconsistent for cancer patients covered by private insurers.
Cautious Optimism
Some encouraging developments offer hope for those of us in the glass-is-half-full crowd. The HRSA work group that Dr. Champlin chairs is recommending that a panel of experts be convened to propose reimbursement guidelines for CMS based on current National Cancer Center Network guidelines.
And, as reported under the Association News section below, our society and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), together with 10 other hematology, oncology and patient support organizations, have submitted a formal petition to CMS for a national coverage determination for allogeneic stem cell transplants for myelodysplastic syndromes. We are organizing a coalition of other organizations to support the request, and we all look forward to a favorable review within a year. A separate request for lymphomas is in the offing.
We will keep you informed about these initiatives and let you know if there are ways in which you can help.
– Claudio
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| Clinical Research |
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Gene identified that controls production of natural killer cells
A gene called E4bp4 controls production of natural killer cells from blood stem cells in bone marrow. According to a report in the October issue of Nature Immunology, this finding could allow researchers to determine the role of natural killer cells in autoimmune diseases and other conditions, such as female infertility.
Stem cell transplant halts cystine accumulation in mice
Bone marrow stem cell transplantation in mice virtually halts the cystine accumulation responsible for the genetic disorder cystinosis. According to a report in the Sept. 17 issue of Blood, transplanted cells carrying the normal lysosomal cystine transporter gene abundantly engrafted into every tissue, leading to an average drop in cystine levels of about 80 percent.
Fat better choice than skin for developing stem cells
Human fat can be induced to differentiate into stem cells more quickly than can skin cells. According to a report in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, fat cells form stem cells at 20 times the rate skin cells do, with 60 to 90 colonies of induced pluripotent stem cells from fat compared with only three or four from skin.
Stem cells grow when injected into tissue scaffold
Stem cells seeded in a tissue engineering scaffold exhibit “excellent attachment and osteogenic differentiation,” providing hope for repairing a variety of cavities. According to findings presented at the World Stem Cell Summit, stem cells from bone marrow started growing and forming minerals needed for new bone tissue when placed into an injectable scaffold of calcium phosphate and chitosan.
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| Biopharmaceutical News |
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Prochymal fails trials for treating GVHD
In two late-stage clinical trials, Osiris Therapeutics’ Prochymal was no more effective than a placebo in treating graft-versus-host disease. Prochymal is a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of young adults. However, in one of the trials, the drug provided a statistically meaningful benefit in patients having graft-versus-host disease that affected their livers or gastrointestinal tracts.
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| Association
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Petition seeks Medicare coverage for allo transplants for MDS
ASBMT and NMDP are leading a coalition of organizations seeking a national policy that permits Medicare and Medicaid coverage for allogeneic stem cell transplants for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Infectious disease guidelines published
“Guidelines for Preventing Infectious Complications among Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Recipients” appears in this month’s Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. The guidelines are a joint project of eight health care organizations, including ASBMT, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The guidelines update recommendations that were published in 2000 for prevention of infections in hematopoietic cell transplant patients.
Early registration deadline is Oct. 15 for BMT Tandem Meetings
Oct. 15 is the deadline for early registration for the 2010 BMT Tandem Meetings, to be held Feb. 24-28 in Orlando, Fla. 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. 15 for Orlando meeting
Abstracts for the 2010 BMT Tandem Meetings are being accepted through Oct. 15. Ninety 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 to young investigators whose abstracts are accepted for oral presentation.
Code changes could prompt needless hospitalizations
ASBMT, NMDP and AABB are trying to stop a change in Medicare and Medicaid procedure codes that could prompt unnecessary hospitalizations for cell harvests, allogeneic peripheral stem cell transplants and donor lymphocyte infusions.
I.T. Summit focuses on technical issues
A total 135 transplant facility I.T. directors and technologists, data managers and administrators attended the Second I.T. Summit Sept. 2-3 in Minneapolis. Many of the PowerPoint presentations from the conference are posted online.
Job Connection now accepts PayPal
The Job Connection on the ASBMT Web site now accepts PayPal as a method of payment for both job seeker and employer purchases. The process for using this new feature is very similar to online credit card purchases. The new option appears beneath the credit card and invoice options on the payment page.
FACT to introduce tracks for accreditation workshops
Cellular therapy workshops conducted in 2010 by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) will be in two tracks: comprehensive and focused. The comprehensive track will include information on each function within a cellular therapy program and is designed for new applicants, inspector trainees and facility administrators. The focused track will address participants’ daily activities in specific areas and are intended for accreditation renewal applicants and experienced inspectors.
Manasevit award applications sought
Applications are being received through Nov. 6 for the next award in the Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program for the Study of Post-Transplant Complications. Sponsored by the Be The Match FoundationSM and the National Marrow Donor Program, the award provides up to $240,000 over three years to an early-career scientist or clinician for research that advances the understanding of events occurring after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
NCI plans workshop on relapse after allo HCT
The National Cancer Institute will hold an international workshop on the biology, prevention and treatment of relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation on Nov. 2-3 in Bethesda. The goal is to generate research questions for a planned Request for Applications.
Discount offered on HCT clinician handbook
ASBMT members are eligible for the AABB-member discount on the newly published Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Guidebook for Clinicians and its accompanying CD. Order by phone at (866) 222-2498, and tell the agent that you are an ASBMT member. The special rate for ASBMT members is not available online.
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, annual dues are waived for new trainees who apply for membership in the Society. The program is made possible by a grant from Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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