ASH 2016 to Highlight Cutting-Edge Science in Hematology

American Society of Hematology: American Society of HematologyThe latest clinical and research advances in treating blood disorders will be in the spotlight at the 58th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Dec. 3-6 in San Diego. Deemed as the premier gathering of hematology professionals and industry leaders, this year's program features new Special Education sessions and, for the first time, a joint session with the European Hematology Association (EHA). “The ASH Meeting consistently delivers high-quality educational, career development, and networking opportunities for attendees,” said Charles S. Abrams, MD, President of ASH. “It showcases the most cutting-edge science in malignant and non-malignant hematology not shared anywhere else. “New programs this year highlight the rapid rate of progress in hematology research and recognize those who have made a difference in improving the quality of our practice,” he continued. “We received a record number of abstract submissions this year and are on track for record-setting attendance.” Excitement About Precision Medicine Precision medicine gathered momentum last year with President Obama's announcement of his Precision Medicine Initiative. This year, ASH highlights the recent developments in precision medicine and clinical genomics, particularly on novel strategies in molecularly targeted therapy. “This session is designed to inform hematologists and investigators about recent developments in precision medicine with a focus on the development and interpretation of molecular assays for molecularly targeted therapies,” said Gary Lyman, MD, MPH, Chairperson of the Special Education Session on Precision Medicine. “One of the motivations for this was the recently released Institute of Medicine Report entitled ‘Biomarker Tests for Molecularly Targeted Therapies’ from the National Academies Press,” he explained. “The recommendations span the realm of relevant issues from biomarker development, regulation, evidence development, clinical utilization, practice guidelines, reimbursement, healthcare policy formulation, etc.,” Lyman said. “While this topic has received much discussion in the cancer setting, the recommendations are not at all cancer specific but applicable across a broad range of medical conditions where molecularly targeted therapies are now available linked to specific biomarkers including hematology.” Recognizing the role of the FDA and industry players in advancing these new approaches to individualized care, the Special Education Session will also discuss critical regulatory standards and requirements. “The importance of software development for the integration of clinical measures and genomic data within and between institutions will also be discussed along with the importance of establishing a national data repository,” Lyman added. First ASH-EHA Collaboration This meeting marks the first ASH-EHA Joint Symposium on “Pluripotent Stem Cells: Will They Be of Clinical Utility?” to be led by George Q. Daley, MD, of Boston Children's Hospital. “Considerable hope (and hype) accompanied the announcement of derivation of human embryonic stem cells in 1997 and human-induced pluripotent stem cells in 2007,” said Daley. “It's important to step back and assess the status of the science and prospects for clinical translation.” Induced pluripotent stem cells are valued for their therapeutic potential, particularly because they come the patient's own cell, thus eliminating problems in tissue matching and rejection. But the current process of generating these cells involves many risks. In this joint session, experts will provide updates on the viability of these “master cells” in the clinical setting. “I hope our session will illuminate the near-term challenges, highlight opportunities for success, and convey a balanced view of the long-term prospects that regenerative medicine will transform disease treatment,” Daley expressed. ASH Choosing Wisely Champions In 2013, ASH launched the Choosing Wisely campaign in an effort to bring clinicians and patients together in constructive discussions about treatment benefits and cost. The campaign returns this year but with a new and even more engaging offering. “This year's session will be different from the previous years,” shared session chair, Lisa Hicks, MD, of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. “When we did the Choosing Wisely session last year, our feeling from the audience was that they were ready to start tackling this problem but needed some models on how to do that.” Earlier this year, ASH and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation launched the Choosing Wisely Champions initiative to recognize practitioners working on reducing expensive and possibly damaging overuse of clinical tests and procedures. “We went through a competitive process to select three projects and to identify the people leading those projects as our ASH Choosing Wisely Champions for 2016,” said Hicks. “We're using the session to honor and showcase the work of people in the community—the hematologists and oncologists—who are doing implementation work to address overutilization.” Hicks also confirmed that both malignant and non-malignant topics will be represented. “What we're really trying to do is to show people how they can address overutilization in their own practices,” she stressed. “The ASH community will find the presentations and the projects very engaging and very relevant to their own practices.” Social Media & Clinical Trials Social media has proven to be a powerful tool in ASH conferences. Last year's annual meeting generated over 33,000 tweets, 34 percent of which were sent out by health care professionals. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that this year's meeting features a session exploring the benefits and challenges of social media for hematologists. “Social media is an important and valuable tool for communicating science and medicine, and we have learned that it can also be a powerful medium for clinical trial success and recruitment,” said Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, who is the chair of the Committee on Communications for ASH. “Twitter and similar platforms give us innovative avenues and opportunities for sharing updates about new and ongoing trials with stakeholders all over the world, [and] most importantly [with] patients.” The Special Interest Session on “Social Media and Clinical Trials: Physicians, Pharma, and Patients” offers a dynamic venue to discuss how tools like Twitter can be used in clinical trial recruitment, while noting issues such as ethics and privacy. “This panel discussion will feature the insights from researchers and a patient advocate who are actively involved in using social media for clinical trial access, information dissemination, and recruitment,” shared Mikhael. “The session will provide examples of best practices enhancing access for patients to life-saving clinical trials as well as for data sharing on social media.” Managing online relationships between researchers and patients will also be discussed, including the common challenges and helpful approaches to foster this type of interaction. “I hope that people will walk away inspired to explore how implementing these strategies on social media can improve the care we deliver patients in the context of critical medical research,” concluded Mikhael. Toni Marie Bacala is managing editor.

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