Two HIV-infected men who were thought to be clear of the virus after having stem cell transplants have had the AIDS-causing pathogen return, their doctors said, scuppering hopes their cases might lead to a cure. The two Boston men, who were also suffering from lymphoma, had no trace of the virus eight months after the transplants, researchers led by Timothy Henrich at Brigham and Womens Hospital said in July, though they said it was too early to say the men had been cured. The virus reappeared in one of the men in August and in the other in November, Henrich said in a statement after presenting the results at an AIDS meeting in Florida yesterday. The setback leaves just two people known to have been cured of HIV infection: Timothy Ray Brown, a San Francisco man who has been clear of the virus since having a bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 2007, and an infant born with HIV in Mississippi in 2010 who was considered cured after intensive treatment shortly after birth. The new findings are disappointing, but scientifically significant, Henrich said in a statement. We have discovered the HIV reservoir is deeper and more persistent than previously known … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 9-Dec-2013 Contact: Jim Ritter jritter@lumc.edu 708-216-2445 Loyola University Health System MAYWOOD, Il. - Donated umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can save the lives of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers. Now a study lead by a Loyola University Medical Center oncologist has found that growing cord blood stem cells in a laboratory before transplanting them into patients significantly improves survival. The cell-expansion technology potentially could boost the number of patients who could benefit from life-saving transplants of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, said Patrick Stiff, MD, lead author of the study. Stiff, director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, presented findings at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. The ASH meeting is the preeminent annual event for physicians and scientists in hematology. Data from more than 5,300 abstracts were presented, and Stiff's abstract was selected as one of the 2013 meeting's top submissions. Stem cell transplants can save lives of patients who have no other options. Patients receive high-dose chemotherapy, and in some cases, high-dose radiation as well. The treatment, unfortunately, kills healthy blood cells along with the cancerous cells. To rebuild the stores of healthy cells, … Continue reading →

Will be in Halifax until mid-January Rod Wilsons cancer fight will come to a conclusion in a Halifax hospital on Thursday. File Rod Wilson will undergo his stem cell transplant in Halifax on Thursday. HALIFAX Rod Wilsons cancer fight will come to a conclusion in a Halifax hospital on Thursday. The 41-year-old Amherst resident will undergo a stem cell transplant, ending an ordeal that began during the summer when he learned his non-Hodgkins lymphoma had returned. It has definitely been a long road and Im praying for a successful operation, Wilson said. In preparation for the procedure, Wilson arrived in Halifax last week and underwent blood work, checkups and chemotherapy while he has also begun taking anti-rejection drugs. Wilson knows this transplant wont be as easy as the last one and theres a greater risk of rejection since the last time his own bone marrow was injected. He also knows that theres a one-in-three chance the transplant wont work. Having gone through this before I sort of know what to expect, but the downside of this is theres a higher risk. The first time it was my own cells so there was no possibility of the body rejecting it, he … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Dec-2013 Contact: Kassidie Blackstock Kassidie.Blackstock@fleishman.com 865-776-6827 American Society of Hematology (NEW ORLEANS, December 7, 2013) Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), once considered an effective yet risky alternative to drug therapy for blood cancer, has become more accessible and successful in a wide range of patients as a result of major advances in transplant strategies and technologies. Several studies representing these advances were presented today during the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans. HSCT is effectively used today as a form of "replacement" therapy for patients with hard-to-treat blood cancers, providing healthy cells from either the patient (autologous transplantation) or from a donor (allogeneic transplantation) to better equip patients to fight the disease on their own. Historically, clinicians evaluating a patient for transplant have sought to identify donor cells that are perfectly matched to the patient's cell type, which is considered to be the optimal approach to help ensure successful outcomes and to minimize risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious and potentially life-threatening complication that occurs when the donated immune cells attack the patient's cells as foreign tissue. Today, researchers are challenging traditional assumptions about transplant eligibility and donor matching in … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise MAYWOOD, Il. - Donated umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can save the lives of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers. Now a study lead by a Loyola University Medical Center oncologist has found that growing cord blood stem cells in a laboratory before transplanting them into patients significantly improves survival. The cell-expansion technology potentially could boost the number of patients who could benefit from life-saving transplants of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, said Patrick Stiff, MD, lead author of the study. Stiff, director of Loyolas Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, presented findings at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. The ASH meeting is the preeminent annual event for physicians and scientists in hematology. Data from more than 5,300 abstracts were presented, and Stiffs abstract was selected as one of the 2013 meetings top submissions. Stem cell transplants can save lives of patients who have no other options. Patients receive high-dose chemotherapy, and in some cases, high-dose radiation as well. The treatment, unfortunately, kills healthy blood cells along with the cancerous cells. To rebuild the stores of healthy cells, the patient subsequently receives a … Continue reading →