ASH Clinical News ACN_4.10_FULL ISSUE web | Page 16

UP FRONT
ASH Directions
Continued from page 9
Conquering Cancer
TOGETHER
Joseph Alvarnas, MD, chair of the ASH Committee on Practice, briefs Congressional
lawmakers and staff on CAR T-cell treatment in adult patients.
ASH Hosts CAR T Briefing on Capitol Hill
On July 10, ASH hosted a briefing on
Capitol Hill to educate members of
Congress and staff on chimeric antigen
receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and its
applications. The Lymphoma Research
Foundation and the National Compre-
hensive Cancer Network co-hosted the
briefing on this innovative treatment,
which has been approved for certain
patients with leukemia and lymphoma
who have exhausted all other treatment
options.
Andrew Zelenetz, MD, PhD, of
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center, gave a presentation about
the research behind the treatment,
while Shannon Maude, MD, PhD, of
the Cancer Center at The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, and Joseph
Alvarnas, MD, of City of Hope in Du-
arte, California, and chair of the ASH
Committee on Practice, presented on
the therapy’s use in pediatric and adult
populations, respectively. The brief-
ing also included a patient testimonial
from Nick Howe, whose lymphoma
was successfully treated with CAR T-
cell therapy last year.
Learn more about ASH’s advocacy
efforts at hematology.org/advocacy.
ASH Announces Collaboration on
Von Willebrand Disease Guidelines
New guidelines are underway for the diagnosis and management of von
Willebrand disease (vWD), which is the most common bleeding disorder and
affects approximately 1 percent of the world’s population.
ASH is collaborating with the International Society on Thrombosis and
Haemostasis, the National Hemophilia Foundation, the World Federation of
Hemophilia, and the University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center to form two
expert panels made up of more than 20 hematologists, patients with vWD, and
experts on evidence, appraisal, and guideline development. These panels will
identify and prioritize guideline questions, placing high importance on areas in
which the development of guidelines could improve care and health outcomes.
Once the question formulation is complete, KU Medical Center will conduct
a systematic evidence review; the panels will use this information to develop
recommendations.
Learn more about the collaboration at hematology.org/vwd-news. ●
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