Clinical News
On Location ASH 2014 Program Preview
the TIPPS study, which will help practicing hematologists manage complications
of pregnancy. The consultative hematology course will cover common problems
encountered in everyday clinical practice,
which is something every practicing
hematologist can benefit from.
Scientific Program Co-Chairs
Dr. Friedberg: In my opinion, survivorship in blood cancers has been a relatively understudied area, so we dedicated a session to survivorship across
various different types of cancers.
Several of the sessions take a “forwardlooking” view of newer drugs that are
being used, such as “Current and Future Therapies for Aplastic Anemia and
Myelodysplastic Syndromes,” where
we look at the micro-environment and
niche and finish with a review of drugs
currently under development; but also,
I think the audience members will get
a good sense about the research agenda
in these areas.
Steven R. Lentz, MD, PhD
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
What are some of the special sessions
designed for early-career hematologists/trainees? For educators?
Dr. Ragni: There is an assortment of
activities to help hematologists-intraining get the most out of the ASH
annual meeting — in terms of both
career development and networking.
In addition to the Trainee Welcome
Reception Friday evening, there’s also a
special Trainee Lounge, which provides
a place for young hematologists to
refresh, regroup, and network.
Dr. Friedberg: For educators, I think
they would be well-served to attend the
specific education programs of interest
to them and get an idea of how we have
merged science into clinical care. This
design should serve as a paradigm, and
perhaps something they could emulate
at their institutions.
What were your goals in designing this
year’s Education Program?
Dr. Ragni: We were excited to weave
science throughout the Education
Program. Each Education Session will
include “science” in the form of scientific
rationale for diagnosis and treatment of
each hematologic disorder discussed. We
thought this would enhance the learning
experience for the practicing hematologist.
Dr. Friedberg: This effort also addresses
how hematology has evolved; the clinical
care of the patient now really requires a
scientific understanding. So, we crafted a
number of sessions to keep that continuum between discovery in the laboratory
and its application in patients. My hope is
that people attending the Education Program sessions leave with a comprehensive
understanding of the state-of-the-art
advances in whichever disease interests
them, as well as how to apply that information in the clinic.
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ASH Clinical News
Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
On the Scientific Program side, what are some of the
highlights?
Dr. Ebert: The special award lectures and the plenary
session should be right at the top of everybody’s list as
the premier sessions for the meeting. In terms of cuttingedge science, I’d also make sure to add the “Late-Breaking
Abstract” presentations (Tuesday, December 9, from 7:30
to 9:00 a.m.) to your agenda.
Dr. Lentz: One of my favorite sessions is “Promoting
Minorities in Hematology Presentations and Reception”
(Saturday, December 6, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.). ASH
recognizes how important it is to invest in the future and
encourage minority students to enter the field of hematology, and this is a great opportunity for minority students
to present their research presentations.
And, of course, with such a full program, you’re bound to
miss something. That’s why the “Best of ASH” program (Tuesday, December 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) is a life-saver.
Which areas of research do you think will have the
most exciting implications for clinical practice?
Dr. Ebert: There are a couple of themes that appear
throughout the Scientific Program, such as immunotherapy. There have been enormous breakthroughs in
ASH 2014 Program Highlights
Friday Scientific
Workshops
The Biology of Aging
in Hematologic
Disorders
Friday, December 5,
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Workshop on Myeloid
Development
Friday, December 5,
1:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Ham-Wasserman
Lecture
Talk Title: Genomic
Landscape in
Severe Congenital
Neutropenia and
Leukemogenesis
Speaker: Ivo Touw,
PhD, Erasmus
University Medical
Center, Rotterdam,
Netherlands
Saturday, December 6,
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Continuing
Conversations
with the Speakers
Saturday, December 6,
and Sunday, December 7,
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
How I Treat:
Bringing Science
to Clinical
Dilemmas
(ticketed)
Saturday, December 6,
and Sunday, December 7,
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Special Symposium
on Quality
The Rising Cost
of Medical Care:
Understanding
the Problem and
Exploring Solutions
Saturday, December 6,
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Featured Topic
Discussion
Sessions
Hemophilia:
hemostatic drug
development, procoagulant drugs
Speakers: Flora
Peyvandi, MD, PhD,
MD, and David
Lillicrap, MD
Sunday, December 7,
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Checkpoint Blockades
Speakers: Steven
Ansell, MD, PhD, Ronald
Levy, MD
Monday, December 8,
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
E. Donnall Thomas
Lecture
Talk Title: Iron,
Erythropoiesis, and
Host Defense: A
Ménage à Trois
Speaker: Tomas Ganz,
MD, PhD
Monday, December 8,
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Newly Approved
Drugs in 2014
A series of 15-minute
didactic sessions on
the practicalities of
using new therapeutic
agents
Moderator: Mikkael
Sekeres, MD, MS
Monday, December 8,
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Best of ASH
Tuesday, December 9,
11:30 – 1:00 p.m.
the past couple of years, in terms of developing new
therapies that target the immune system to attack
malignant cells. The Special Scientific Symposium on
CAR T-cell therapy, for instance, really highlights the
stunning efficacy this therapy has shown in the treatment of acute leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and other lymphoid diseases.
Another theme is epigenetics and genomics — specifically, how mutations in epigenetic regulators lead to
hematologic malignancies. From a research standpoint,
developing new technologies for genome editing will be
another scientific focus, and this crosses benign and malignant hematology as well as opening up new frontiers
and potential implications in gene therapy.
Dr. Lentz: I’m excited about the breakthroughs we are
seeing with iron — the understanding of iron metabolism,
new drugs for iron deficiency and iron overload, and treatment of poor iron utilization due to inflammator y diseases.
Iron has been at the core of hematology for a long time, but
we haven’t seen much progress for many years. And now,
all of a sudden, we are seeing great advances.
Thrombosis, and particularly the role of neutrophil
extracellular traps in that process, will also be a common
theme across several different sessions — for instance, the
Scientific Committee on Hemostasis will address it, and
the Scientific Committee on Transfusion Medicine will talk
about their role in transfusion-related acute lung injury.
How does this year’s Scientific Program differ from
previous years?
Dr. Lentz: This year, we are continuing and expanding on
a few “pilot” programs that began at last year’s meeting,
including the “Continuing Conversations with the Speakers” series and the Special Scientific Symposia. The topics
broached in those sessions are not limited to one specific
area of hematology, but cut across the entire breadth of
hematology. These were very successful
last year, and we have a few really exciting
topics this year — the CAR T-cell therapy
mentioned earlier, as well as RNA therapeutics in hematology.
These are great sessions; they are smallgroup format and are designed with a
level of accessibility between the audience
and the speakers.
Dr. Ebert: We wanted to foster debate to
engage the audience, so a number of the
Spotlight Sessions are in point/counterpoint format. Another important thing to
mention is that the Spotlight Sessions are
no longer ticketed, which is good news for
attendees.
Do you have any recommendations for
early-career hematologists, trainees, or
first-time attendees?
Dr. Ebert: From a personal perspective,
when I attended ASH as a trainee, the
session that taught me more about the
science of malignant hematology was the
“Workshop on Myeloid Development.”
That’s true for this year, too; the amount
of exposure you get to research in malignant hematology delivered by senior-level
investigators is astounding. This is a really
intense session because there are so many
presentations (condensed to five slides
each), but I really feel like I learned more
in those five to six hours than I had from
any other meeting I’ve ever attended. ●
October 2014