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| February 1, 2010 |
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Top
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Clinical
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Association
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BMT Tandem Meetings |
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Calendar |
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Job &
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Monthly Journal |
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eNews
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| Calendar |
• February
Hematological Aspects of Autoimmune Diseases
European Hematology Association (EHA)
Feb. 13-15
Pullman 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
Regenerative Medicine: Advancing Next Generation Therapies
13th Annual Hilton Head Workshop
March 10-14
Sea Pines Resort
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
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
Bone Marrow Failure Disease Scientific Symposium
Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation
March 11-12, 2010
Bethesda Hyatt Hotel
Bethesda, Maryland
Association of Community Cancer Centers
36th Annual Meeting
March 17-20
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
Baltimore, Maryland
American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB)
14th Annual Spring Conference
March 20-23
Renaissance Hotels & Resorts
Hollywood, California
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.
Bioprocessing and Barriers to Clinical Applications of Stem Cell Therapies
5th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium
April 21
BioPharmaceutical Technology Center
Madison, Wisconsin
• 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
14th Annual International Congress of Hematologic Malignancies: Focus on Leukemias, Lymphomas and Myelomas
Physicians’ Education Resource
May 17-21
Fairmont Château Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
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 23-26
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
8th Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Symposium
Cord Blood Forum
June 3-5
Hyatt Regency San Francisco at Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, California
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
46th Annual Meeting
June 4-8
McCormick Place
Chicago, Illinois
European Hematology Association (EHA)
15th Congress
June 10-13
The Gran Via Conference Center
Barcelona, Spain
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
8th Annual Meeting
June 16-19
Moscone Center
San Francisco, California
8th International Donor Registry Conference
World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA)
June 16-19
Trinity College
Dublin, Ireland
FOCIS 2010
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
June 24-28
Boston Marriott Copley Place
Boston, Massachusetts
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| Top
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UK organizations team to fund MS stem cell research
In the United Kingdom, the MS Society and the UK Stem Cell Foundation are collaborating to announce a call for research grant applications for joint funding of up to 1 million pounds. This partnership is intended to speed up stem cell research for the potential treatment of multiple sclerosis. 
Expanded umbilical cord blood cells trialed in humans
For the first time in humans, scientists have used a technique intended to trigger an increase in the number of stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood. According to a report in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine, these cells were accepted by the body more quickly and contributed more to rebuilding functioning bone marrow than “non-expanded” cord blood transplants.
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 A Word from President Claudio Anasetti, MD
The ASBMT has a tradition of fostering best practice discussions through the evidence-based reviews we sponsor, through the case presentations and polls in the e-newsletter and, most recently, through the standard practice guideline committee. While one may think this is enough, a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) (10.1056/NEJMp0911423) questioned whether professional societies, in general, are proactive in cutting health care waste.
We could do better at this task ourselves, based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) report showing that BMT health care expenses have reached $1.3 billion yearly, increasing by 85 percent from 2004 to 2007. A 51 percent increase in the total expense over the four years was related to the increased numbers of procedures, and together with recent National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) reports on the improved transplant survival rates, we can celebrate that many more patients are enjoying their life nowadays thanks to the expanded access, the improved outcomes, and our increasing efforts.
A 34 percent increase in total health care expense for BMT from 2004 to 2007, however, was related to the increase in cost for the average procedure, an increase of 11 percent per year, higher than for surgical procedures (0-9 percent per year) or for cancer chemotherapy that increased by 6 percent per year. The NEJM editorial invited the exercise to identify and eliminate the top five futile expenditures. The editorial pointed out that such an exercise would not ration health care, because it would not reach into the more common professional practices.
Have you ever faced emotional decisions with individual patients, for example considering a second transplant in a young patient with persistent leukemia who relapsed within six months of the first? Or adding another biological therapy for a patient with terminal graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) of the bowel who has already failed the six most effective therapies? Or starting mechanical ventilation in a patient with cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia and intractable GVHD? At what point should the concern for wasted health care expense be factored in our care decisions adding to the daily struggle between potential for cure versus need for palliation?
While establishing best practices at your center, have you considered selecting the least expensive items that are within the standards of care, for example replacing with saline the magic mouth wash for mucositis as it is not magic after all, dropping the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) after allogenic peripheral blood stem cell transplants, encouraging hospital discharge for stable neutropenic patients? What are your top five? Please use the Reader Poll in the left-hand column and we’ll publish the top 10 in a subsequent issue of the newsletter.
There remains the unmet need to establish effectiveness of BMT compared to non-transplant therapies for many indications. Cost-effectiveness studies should in the long run guide our practice and systematically contain health care expenses without depriving patients with blood disorders of curative therapy.
– Claudio
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| Clinical Research |
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Skin cells transformed into nerve cells
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have applied three genes to transform mouse skin cells into functional nerve cells. According to a report in the advance online edition of Nature, the cells change without first becoming a pluripotent type of stem cell, a step long thought to be required for cells to acquire new identities.
Blood test could help identify patients with GVHD
A test that checks the levels of a protein called elafin in the blood could help scientists determine whether a skin rash signifies graft-versus-host disease in people who have undergone a bone marrow transplant. According to a report in the Jan. 6 issue of Science Translational Medicine, patients with a skin rash and lower blood elafin levels are 71 percent more likely to be alive five years after transplant than those with higher levels.
Transplanted neurons form proper brain connections
When transplanted into the brains of newborn mice, neurons grown from embryonic stem cells were able to form proper brain connections. According to a report in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, these cortical neurons grew into the appropriate brain structures when transplanted into regions that control vision, touch and movement.
Regulatory network launches stem cells toward differentiation
Scientists have identified a network of regulatory factors that can maintain a stable pool of stem cells while launching a second pool of cells on the path toward maturing into differentiated cells with specific functions. According to a report in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new model also describes how a previously identified intermediate population of cells probably reflects a gradual maturation process.
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| Association
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Elizabeth Shpall will lead ASBMT in 2012
Elizabeth J. Shpall, MD, has been chosen by ballot among ASBMT members to be the society’s vice president. The election places her in line to assume the presidency two years from now. Dr. Shpall is the Ashbel Smith Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the cancer center’s Cell Therapy Laboratory medical director and the Cord Blood Bank director.
Newly elected directors are Linda J. Burns, MD, of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis; Peter A. McSweeney, MD, of the University of Colorado in Denver; and Warren D. Shlomchik, MD, of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven. All will take office at the close of the BMT Tandem Meetings this month in Orlando.
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, this year. Applications are being accepted through April 1 for the course, which will be presented July 14-19.
Updates to HLA nomenclature
As the science of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching has advanced, the current HLA naming convention has exceeded capacity to name newly discovered alleles. As a result, a new version of HLA nomenclature will be launched on April 1. The World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) are also working with organizations and suppliers from around the world to ensure worldwide systems are prepared for the new version of HLA Nomenclature.
New Publication offers information and first-hand perspectives to bone marrow/stem cell transplant survivors
The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link (nbmtLINK) has announced the availability of its newest publication, Survivorship Guide for Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant-Coping with Late Effects. The goals of the Survivorship Guide are to raise awareness of the challenges individuals face in the years after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant and to provide targeted information and resources to help survivors better cope with these challenges. Call the nbmtLINK at 800-546-5268 and mention ASBMT to order a complimentary copy of the Survivorship Guide.
CIBMTR launches new Web site
To meet the unique needs of transplant investigators, clinicians and data managers, CIBMTR recently launched an all-new Web site. This Web resource provides easy access to CIBMTR studies, publications, slides, outcomes data and more. In addition, the Web site offers opportunities to get involved in CIBMTR research or access support for your own research through data, samples or statistical support. Visit the new site at: www.cibmtr.org.
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| BMT Tandem Meetings |
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Record number of registrants headed for Orlando
Registration for the 2010 BMT Tandem Meetings has exceeded last year’s record when the meetings convened in Tampa. The scientific program, the agenda for parallel personnel 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 being held at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center.
ASBMT President’s Dinner night of Feb. 27
Join ASBMT President Dr. Claudio Anasetti to celebrate advances in the BMT field, announcements of research scholarships and presentations of Public Service and Liftetime Achievement awards. The dinner, at 7:45 pm, Saturday, Feb. 27, will be at the Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center. Limited-attendance tickets, free to BMT Tandem Meetings registrants, will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Registration Desk.
Medical directors to focus on capacity, compensation and cost
Participants in the Medical Directors Conference at this year’s BMT Tandem Meetings will receive an update on how the BMT community is responding to capacity, compensation and cost capture. The conference is being held on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 27.
BMT Administrators Conference
ASBMT and NMDP will host a special coding and reimbursement discussion from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, in the Suwannee 17 room at Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center. Topics will include billing and reimbursement issues related to Medicare patients, NMDP search and procurement charges, and an open discussion of priority issues. All Tandem attendees are welcome.
Annual meeting features ‘Meet the Professor’ luncheons
There will be an Orientation Session for fellows and junior faculty attending the 2010 BMT Tandem Meetings during the opening morning coffee break, Feb. 24, and an opportunity for informal discussions with experts in areas of BMT patient management. Meet the Professor luncheons will be led by internationally regarded authorities using a case-based discussion of topics such as HLA-mismatched transplants, low grade Lymphoma, chronic GVHD and pediatric cord blood transplantation. Sign-up will be at the meeting registration desk.
Alois A. Gratwohl to present Bortin Lecture
Alois A. Gratwohl, MD, of the University Hospital in Switzerland, will present the Mortimer M. Bortin Lecture at the BMT Tandem Meetings in Orlando. His presentation, “The Evolution of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Darwinian View,” will be on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Stanley Riddell to present E. Donnall Thomas Lecture
Stanley R. Riddell, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine, will present the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture at the BMT Tandem Meetings in Orlando. His presentation, “Therapeutic T-cells: The End of the Long Beginning,” will be on Friday, Feb. 26.
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