Category Archives: Stem Cell Transplant

(PRNewsFoto/Karmanos Cancer Institute) DETROIT The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Centers Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Program has received full accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, the highest level and the most extensive spectrum of accreditation offered by FACT for Bone Marrow Transplant Programs. This includes accreditation for both adult and pediatric clinical programs, apheresis collection, marrow harvest collection and stem cell processing. The accreditation is effective for three years beginning Sept. 30, 2012. Additionally, Karmanos BMT program, the largest of its kind in Michigan, was honored with an award for being a site that has maintained continuous FACT accreditation for 10 years or more. Karmanos first FACT accreditation was received in 2000. We are extremely pleased about receiving full accreditation from FACT, said Toni Henderson-Clark, MSN, MSBA, RN, CCRN, quality and regulatory specialist for the Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Program at Karmanos. We make it an absolute priority to provide the best and most effective therapies for those patients who come to us for bone marrow transplants. The fact that we have maintained FACT accreditation for so long speaks to that commitment. Karmanos doctors performed 273 bone marrow transplants in 2012 and expect … Continue reading →

June 24, 2013 A new study by an international team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists provides the first statistically-based guidelines for determining whether a stem cell transplant is appropriate for older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) -- the most common blood disorders in people over 60 years of age, and frequently a precursor for leukemia. Using mathematical models to analyze hundreds of MDS cases from around the world, the researchers found reduced intensity transplants of donor stem cells are advisable for patients aged 60-70 who have higher-risk forms of MDS that are likely to turn into leukemia in the near future. For patients with lower-risk MDS, non-transplant treatments are preferable, the model indicates. The research was reported online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "Our study helps inform older MDS patients and their doctors whether a stem cell transplant is preferred or whether it makes more sense to pursue other options," says John Koreth, MBBS, DPhil, medical oncologist in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Dana-Farber, who is the study's lead author and co-principal investigator (with Joseph Pidala, MD, MS, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer & Research Institute, and senior author Corey Cutler, MD, MPH, of the … Continue reading →

Roy Jones Charles Martinez: Comprehensive Stem Cell Transplant Outcome Electronic Data Submission Roy Jones Charles Martinez, MD Anderson Cancer Center present Comprehensive Stem Cell Transplant Outcome Electronic Data Submission. By: NCIgov … Continue reading →

Newswise MINNEAPOLISMay 28, 2013Survival rates have increased significantly among patients who received blood stem cell transplants from both related and unrelated donors, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology today. The study authors attribute the increase to several factors, including advances in HLA tissue typing, better supportive care and earlier referral for transplantation. The study analyzed outcomes for more than 38,000 transplant patients with life-threatening blood cancers and other diseases over a 12-year period capturing approximately 70 to 90 percent of all related and unrelated blood stem cell transplants performed in the U.S. It was led by Theresa Hahn, Ph.D., of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), in collaboration with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), the research arm of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and Be The Match. This study shows that we are making significant progress, on a national level, in survival after transplantation. Patients across the country have benefited from the collaborative efforts of the CIBMTR, the NMDP and clinical researchers at individual transplant centers," said Dr. Hahn, an Associate Member and Associate Professor of Oncology in RPCI's Department of Medicine and first author on the study. Our results … Continue reading →

2013 Blume-Schmidt Memorial Lecture - Stem cell transplant experts gather to honor pioneer Hematology experts from around the country convened at City of Hope for the Gerhard Schmidt Memorial Lecture in Transplantation Biology and Medicine to discuss the impact of Karl G. Blume,... By: City of Hope … Continue reading →

Newswise MAYWOOD, Il. - Dr. Patrick Stiff of Loyola University Medical Center has been named chair of a nationwide committee of cancer researchers who design and conduct clinical trials involving bone marrow and stem cell transplants. Such transplants treat blood and lymph cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The SWOG Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Committee includes 86 investigators from many of the nations top cancer centers. SWOG, formerly known as the Southwest Oncology Group, is a network of more than 4,000 cancer researchers and at more than 500 institutions across the country and internationally. Primarily supported by the Nation Cancer Institute, SWOG designs and conducts multidisciplinary clinical trials to improve the practice of medicine in preventing, detecting and treating cancer, and to enhance the quality of life for cancer survivors. Stiff has served as vice chair of the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Committee since 2000. He is eminently qualified to now become its overall leader, said Dr. Charles D. Blanke, SWOG chair. He is also SWOG principal investigator for Loyola University, and hence knows our group well. Stiff is division director of Hematology/Oncology and medical director of Loyolas Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. He is a … Continue reading →

HOUSTON Viral infections present deadly threats to patients who have received donor blood, marrow and cord stem cells transplants and are immune deficient while their transplants begin to work. When drugs fail, T-cells specially engineered to target the viruses could help, but generating those when needed presents a major barrier. In a new study that appears online in the journal Blood (http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org.ezproxyhost.library.tmc.edu/content/early/2013/04/22/blood-2013-02-486324.full.pdf), researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) found that previously banked third party T-cells that specifically targeted three viruses that threaten recipients of such stem cell transplants offer a potent remedy for patients for whom antiviral drugs are not working. In their study, the BCM researchers generated a bank of 32 cell lines specific for three viruses Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus and adenovirus. Each was characterized to identify which viruses it could see or recognize so the investigators could identify the most suitable line for each patient. They used cells from 18 of these lines to treat 50 patients from eight centers across the country that had undergone a stem cell transplant and were suffering from a severe viral infection that had not responded to conventional treatment. Commonly, patients who undergo these stem cell transplants are immune … Continue reading →

Interview with Sarah Kelm of the Immunotherapy Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Research Group Interview with Sarah Kelm of the Immunotherapy Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Research Group. Video created by Dan Martin, Katie Muhamed and Reuben Sanon. By: GoRED2013 … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Transplant Hangout Lymphoma survivor, Greg Dafoe speaks about his experience receiving a Stem Cell Transplant. Dr. Pike speaking to the research behind Stem Cell Transplants an... By: LymphomaTV … Continue reading →

Ellen's journey through lymphoma and a stem cell transplant. From biopsy to remission, this picture journey shares my story. By: zac495 … Continue reading →