It was snowing in Atlanta the day the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) team of doctors, researchers and fellows flew out to attend the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Travel delays aside, it was an exciting four days of recognition for the work SCCA has done in hematology – and an excellent opportunity to share research with others in the field. Here are a few highlights from ASH 2017.
After 22 years as a member, Dr. Stephanie Lee, a hematologist at SCCA was inducted as the new Vice President of ASH.
Lee will be the first Fred Hutch faculty member to serve on the ASH Executive Committee since Hutch bone marrow transplant pioneer and Nobel laureate Dr. E. Donnall Thomas served as president in 1988.
“We are thrilled by Dr. Lee’s accomplishment and the role she will have in leading our field,” said Dr. Gary Gilliland, president and director of Fred Hutch. “It is particularly notable that she is the first Hutch member to be elected president of ASH since Don Thomas.”
Dr. Lee’s research is aimed at improving the lives of transplant recipients. Read the whole story here. Read the whole story here.
The Motley Fool takes an investor perspective on what new drugs for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma patients mean, but they’re also clear about benefits for patients.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting this past weekend was chock-full of excitement, including an unexpected snowstorm in Atlanta and a slew of game-changing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma trial results for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR-T). These CAR-T trial results suggest we’re fast approaching a major shift in how we battle blood cancer, so let’s look at the latest data. Read the full story here.
Our caregiver support team is fully aware of how taxing the role of caregiver can be. At SCCA, we continually strive to support everyone involved in a patient’s treatment. This year, Fred Hutch researchers presented the results of a study on caregiver quality of life.
Being the caregiver of a loved one with a serious illness can be a tough job, both physically and emotionally. And as revealed by these quotes from anonymous caregivers in a new study, it’s a role that’s often under the radar despite its importance for patients’ well-being. Read the full story here.
Twelve percent of adults with acute myeloid or acute lymphoblastic experience graft failure, according to a study presented at ASH. But Dr. Fillippo Milano, associate director of the Cord Blood Transplant Program at SCCA comments that there’s a lower rate of failure at SCCA.
I was really surprised by the graft failure rate of 12% after both single and double umbilical cord transplants, which is much higher than what we usually see in our single-center experience. For instance, at our center in Seattle, umbilical cord rejection is less than 5%. Read the full story here.
Dr. Oliver Press embodied the advancement of hematology with his work to mentor those entering the field. ASH recognized Dr. Press for his work by posthumously awarding him a 2017 Mentor Award.
He mentored more than 70 individuals since the 1980s, including undergraduates, medical students, PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows. His dedication to mentorship has been recognized with an award named in his honor, the Oliver W. Press Distinguished MSTP Alumnus Award, which acknowledges a graduate of the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program. He also received the Department of Medicine Mentorship Award from the University of Washington. Read the full story here.
For those interested in learning, there’s a full review of all sessions presented at ASH online at Hematology 2017.