ASH Clinical News August 2017 v3 | Page 10

ASH Directions

ASH Selects Outstanding Trainees for Award Programs

2017 ASH Research Training Award for Fellows

ASH selected 11 fellows for the 2017 ASH Research Training Award for Fellows ( RTAF ), a year-long program that encourages careers in academic hematology by providing protected research time during training .

Each RTAF awardee will receive $ 70,000 to support a hematology research project throughout the program ’ s duration , from July 1 , 2017 , to June 30 , 2018 . The majority of the award money will support the recipient ’ s salary , with a percentage to be used for research supplies and travel to related scientific meetings , including the ASH annual meeting . For the full list of award recipients and their research topics , visit hematology . org / 2017RTAF .

2017 ASH HONORS Award

ASH chose 18 medical students and 13 residents to receive the 2017 ASH HONORS Award . The award supports the career development of talented North American medical students and residents interested in hematology . Recipients receive a stipend of $ 5,000 to conduct hematology research projects and $ 1,000 each year for two years to support their attendance at the ASH annual meeting . Each HONORS participant will have an ASH member research mentor who will assist and oversee his or her work and progress . For the full list of awardees , visit hematology . org / 2017HONORS .

2017 ASH Minority Resident Hematology Award Program

ASH announced the three resident physicians who will take part in the 2017 ASH Minority Resident Hematology Award Program ( MRHAP ), which is designed to provide support for underrepresented minority residents to conduct hematology-focused research .

Program participants will receive $ 7,000 to help cover the cost of their research projects as well as travel expenses to the 59th ASH Annual Meeting in December , where they will present the results of their projects . The 2017 MRHAP participants and their research topics are :

• Owhofasa Agbedia , MD , MPH Howard University Hospital , Washington , DC “ Incidence , survival and prevalence of hematologic malignancies amongst minority populations using the SEER program database ”

• Elisa Quiroz , MD Beaumont Health , Dearborn , MI “ Variations in microRNA expression in Latin American patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia ”

• Samuel Wilson , MD University of Michigan Health System , Ann Arbor , MI “ Role of Duffy antigen phenotype in clinical outcomes of individuals with sickle cell disease on hydroxyurea therapy ”

To learn more about the program , visit hematology . org / Medical-Student / MRHAP .

ASH NEWS AND REPORTS ®

D I F F U S I O N

More Than an Aspirin a Day to Keep Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism Away

Weitz JI , Lensing AWA , Prins MH , et al . Rivaroxaban or aspirin for extended treatment of venous thromboembolism . N Engl J Med . 2017 ; 376:1211-1222 .

hether to extend anticoagulant therapy for a deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism beyond the acute treatment period can be a problematic decision .

WAnticoagulant therapy reduces the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolic events ( VTE ), but at the cost of an increased risk of bleeding . Reducing the intensity of anticoagulant therapy 1-3 or switching to aspirin 3 have both been proposed as options in patients who wish to continue protection , but the efficacy and safety of these strategies is still uncertain .

Dr . Jeffrey I . Weitz and colleagues reported the results of a doubleblind , randomized controlled trial , “ EINSTEIN CHOICE ,” which compared rivaroxaban 10 mg daily ( low intensity ) with rivaroxaban 20 mg daily ( standard intensity ) and aspirin 100 mg daily for prevention of recurrent VTE . All 3,365 randomly assigned patients received six to 12 months of anticoagulant therapy prior to enrollment . Patients with provoked or unprovoked VTE were eligible as long as their clinician believed there was uncertainty about the value of long-term treatment . Study duration was up to 12 months . The primary efficacy outcome measure was symptomatic fatal or nonfatal recurrent VTE , and the primary safety outcome was major bleeding .

The results showed that the rivaroxaban 20-mg and 10-mg doses were both superior to aspirin for the prevention of recurrent VTE ( rivaroxaban 20 mg , 1.5 %; rivaroxaban 10 mg , 1.2 %; aspirin , 4.4 %; HR [ rivaroxaban 20 mg vs . aspirin ], 0.34 ; 95 % CI , 0.20-0.59 ; p < 0.001 ; HR [ rivaroxaban 10 mg vs . aspirin ], 0.26 ; 95 % CI , 0.14-0.47 ; p < 0.001 ). Between

Laura Michaelis , MD , Selected as Editor-in-Chief of The Hematologist

Laura Michaelis , MD , associate professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin , will begin a three-year term as editor-inchief of The Hematologist , ASH ’ s official member newsletter , in January 2018 . Dr . Michaelis specializes in acute and chronic leukemias ,

Laura Michaelis , MD myelodysplastic

JULY / AUGUST 2017 VOLUME 14 ISSUE 4

F E A T U R E

Disparities of Adolescent and Young Adult Patients in the Treatment of Malignant Hematologic Diseases

LEIDY L . ISENALUMHE , MD , MS Adult Clinical Hematology-Oncology Fellow , H . Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute ; Pediatric Hematologist / Oncologist ; Chair , ASH Trainee Council ; Tampa , FL

The Adolescent and Young Adult ( AYA ) Progress Review Group ( PRG ) defines the AYA cancer population as patients ranging from 15 to 39 years of age . An estimated 69,000 AYA individuals are diagnosed with cancer each year — six times more than children younger than 14 years . 1 The AYA age demarcation was established as a high-risk population after data from the Surveillance , Epidemiology , and End Results ( SEER ) study showed a lack in improvement in survival for patients with many forms of cancer . 2 , 3 The most common malignancies are leukemia , lymphoma , germ cell tumors , and central nervous system tumors among 15 to 24 year olds , with the incidence of breast cancer , colorectal cancer , and melanoma increasing among older AYA patients 1 ( Figure ).

Figure

Common Types of Cancer Affecting AYAs

syndromes , myeloproliferative neoplasms , bone marrow failure syndromes , and myeloid disorders and is a member of the ASH Committee on Communications . Prior to her career in medicine , she earned a master ’ s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist for 10 years . Dr . Michaelis will succeed Jason Gotlib , MD , MS , who has served as editor-in-chief since 2015 .

Join the Race in Support of Hematology

Registration is open for the fifth annual ASH Foundation Run / Walk , which will take place December 6 at the ASH annual meeting . The route will start and finish at the International Plaza , directly across from the Georgia World Congress Center , and wind through downtown Atlanta . Participants can register individually or with colleagues as a team , or sponsor other runners , such as trainees . Proceeds from registration fees and donations will benefit the ASH Sickle Cell Disease Initiative Fund . Register and / or donate at hematology . org / runwalk .

And the Honorific Award Winners Are …

ASH will recognize the following exceptional hematologists with Honorific Awards at the 59th ASH Annual Meeting in December :

Marshall A . Lichtman , MD , from the University of Rochester in Rochester , New York , will receive the 2017 Wallace H . Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology for his more than 50 years of service to the field of hematology as an educator , mentor , researcher , and physician .

The 2017 Henry M . Stratton Medal for Basic Research will be awarded to Josef Tomas Prchal , MD , from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City , for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of both primary and secondary polycythemias . The 2017 Henry M . Stratton Medal for Clinical / Translational Research will be awarded to Sherrill J . Slichter , MD , from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle , for her major contributions to the field of transfusion medicine over a period of more than 40 years .

The 2017 William Dameshek Prize will be awarded to Benjamin L . Ebert , MD , PhD , from Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital in Boston , Massachusetts , for his seminal discoveries in multiple areas of malignant hematology .

James R . Downing , MD , from St . Jude Children ’ s Research Hospital in Memphis , Tennessee , will be honored with the E . Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his work in understanding the molecular genetics that underlies pediatric acute leukemia .

Luigi Naldini , MD , PhD , from San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan , Italy , and Marina Cavazzana , MD , PhD , from Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris , France , will be honored with the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize for their work in hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy .

The first-ever ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity will be

awarded to Betty S . Pace , MD , from Augusta University in Georgia , for her more than two-decade commitment to mentoring and promoting diversity in hematology research .

Ronald Hoffman , MD , from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York , and Oliver W . Press , MD , PhD , from the University of Washington in Seattle , will receive the ASH Mentor Award in recognition of their consistent support of their mentees ’ careers .

Visit hematology . org / Annual-Meeting to read the preliminary program for the 59th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition and learn more about the honorific award recipients . ●

8 ASH Clinical News August 2017