Information for Abstract Authors

Six late-breaking abstracts were chosen for the ASH annual meeting. View Now.
The 2011 ASH Annual Meeting abstracts, final program, and personal scheduler are now available online. Abstract submission information for our 54th Annual Meeting will be available in May 2012.


The 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) will be held Saturday, December 10, through Tuesday, December 13, 2011, in San Diego, California. The goal of the ASH annual meeting is to present the best new scientific research in all areas of hematology.

Eligibility

To submit a late-breaking abstract, the following criteria must be met:

  • Late-breaking abstracts should highlight novel and substantive studies of high impact. The late-breaking abstract deadline is not intended to be merely an extension of the general submission deadline and will focus on capturing abstracts with ground-breaking and novel data that otherwise could not be presented at the annual meeting.
  • The selection process will be highly competitive; no more than six abstracts will be selected for an oral presentation in a late-breaking abstracts session on Tuesday morning of the ASH annual meeting.
  • Examples of suitable late-breaking abstracts might include the results of a practice-changing prospective clinical trial or the discovery of a mechanism underlying or characterizing a disease process (such as the JAK2 mutation in myeloproliferative disorders), which were not fully available by the general abstract submission deadline.
  • Late-breaking abstracts are not eligible for oral or poster presentation in the regular ASH annual meeting abstract program. Late-breaking abstracts will not be chosen from among the abstracts submitted by the general submission deadline, but all other ASH policies stated in the general submission abstracts will still apply.
  • The accepted late-breaking abstracts will be published online on the Blood Abstracts site. Due to time constraints, they will not be part of the print Blood abstracts issue.
  • At least one of the authors must be an ASH member who has paid the current membership dues.
  • If none of the abstract authors is an ASH member, the abstract must be sponsored by a current ASH member. ASH members are urged to use their best judgment in restricting sponsorship to a reasonable number of abstracts, keeping in mind that they are endorsing the authenticity and quality of each abstract that they sponsor.
  • Research and/or studies must fit into one of the ASH 2011 Abstract Review Categories.
  • Data already published, either online or in print, by October 31, 2011, data presented at a major national or international meeting (‘major’ is defined as 1,000 or more attendees), and data to be presented at an ASH Friday Satellite Symposium will generally not be eligible for consideration. We encourage the authors to request special consideration (see section below) if the abstract is a minor extension of published work or if the author has a reason to believe that the data will be published, either online or in print, or presented prior to the ASH annual meeting.

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Responsibilities of the Presenting Author

  • The first author listed for each abstract serves as the presenting author and as the primary contact for all correspondence regarding the abstract, unless otherwise specified under the “Contact Information” section of the online abstract submission system.
  • The presenting author must be one of the co-authors listed on the submitted abstract.
  • The presenting author is responsible for the following:
    • Ensuring that all authors have read the abstract and agreed to be co-authors. Failure to get approval from all authors will result in rejection of the abstract.
    • Notifying all co-authors of any additions, deletions, and changes to the program, as may be communicated by ASH.
    • Obtaining all of the conflict-of-interest disclosure and copyright transfer information from co-authors.
    • Forwarding all correspondence to all co-authors, including ASH policies and guidelines and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support for Continuing Medical Education (CME).
     

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Author's Consent and Waiver of Claims

  • Each abstract author agrees and certifies that he or she:
    • has read all of the rules and agrees to be bound by them,
    • is responsible for submission of the abstract in accordance with the rules, and
    • waives any and all claims against ASH and any reviewer arising out of or relating to the abstract submission and review process, including but not limited to peer review and the grading of abstracts.
     

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General Guidelines

  • The abstract must address scientific questions, detail clinical observations, or contain primary scientific data.
  • Abstracts submitted to ASH are embargoed from the time of submission. This means that the data in the abstract cannot be submitted to other meetings and/or publishers once submitted for the ASH annual meeting. Read the “Embargo Policy” section of the Call for Late-Breaking Abstracts for more information.
  • All research and studies reported in submitted abstracts that involve human and animal subjects must comply with the guiding principles for experimental procedures found in the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
  • Data from the long-term follow-up of previously presented clinical trials may be submitted only if significant new information can be shown. In this case, please ask for Requesting Special Consideration.
  • Interim analysis of a prospective randomized clinical trial will be considered only if it is performed as planned in the original protocol and is statistically valid. If your abstract involves interim analysis, explain the details of your study in the text box provided under the submission information section online.
  • There is a $60 nonrefundable handling fee for submitting an abstract. Payment must be made by credit card; Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Purchase orders and checks will not be accepted. The abstract submission fee does not include registration for the annual meeting; therefore, all authors planning to attend the ASH annual meeting must register for the meeting. 
  • No revisions can be made after the abstract submission deadline.
  • Abstracts generally may not be withdrawn once submitted. If you prefer that your abstract be withdrawn if not accepted for any presentation at the ASH annual meeting, you must indicate so during online submission.
  • The presentation at the annual meeting must reflect the submitted abstract. In particular, the abstract title, authorship, and scientific content of the presentation at the annual meeting must match the submitted abstract, although updates on results may be added.
  • Abstracts should be written in clear and concise English, so that reviewers are able to focus solely on the scientific merits of the submission. We encourage non-English-speaking authors to have their abstracts checked for grammar and spelling prior to submission.
  • It is assumed that the presenting author will have adequate command of English to present and to respond to questions.

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Requesting Special Consideration

  • Special consideration may be requested by explaining the special circumstances in the text box provided during the online abstract submission process. We encourage authors to request special consideration if the abstract is a minor extension of previously published work or if the author has a reason to believe that the data will be published, either online or in print, or presented in any form prior to the ASH annual meeting. The information provided will be carefully evaluated by the reviewers.
  • Failure of authors to request special consideration for an abstract, including content that has been published or presented at a major national or international meeting (‘major’ is defined as 1,000 or more attendees) or in a press release published before the ASH annual meeting, will result in exclusion from the program.

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Abstract Review and Selection Process

  • After the submission deadline, all completed and eligible abstracts will be made available to the ASH Scientific and Education Program Co-Chairs and Officers for blinded review and scoring, and final decisions will be made by the Program Committee in early November 2011.
  • Abstracts will be evaluated and scored solely on their scientific merits.
  • Incomplete abstracts will not be reviewed.
  • The same study must not be submitted as multiple abstracts. Abstracts that are simply different versions of a single study will be rejected.
  • Abstracts will be peer reviewed according to the subject categories. Authors must indicate during online submission the appropriate review category (one only). You will be able to use the list of abstract review categories, which provides detailed descriptions of each category, to assist you in selecting the correct abstract classification. Please read through all of the categories and select the category most closely associated with your abstract. All category selections will be final. There will be NO re-classification of abstracts after the abstract submission site has been closed. 
  • Of all late-breaking abstracts submitted for consideration, only six will be considered for an oral presentation. The Late-Breaking Session features the top six abstracts. These are formal oral presentations, each followed by a brief discussion.

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Acceptance/Rejection Notification

  • Notification regarding acceptance or rejection of abstracts will be sent to the presenting author on or after November 15, 2011 by email; consequently, an accurate email address is critical. If you have not received an email notification by November 18, 2011, contact ASHabstracts@hematology.org. Rejection notifications will also be sent at that time.
  • The decision of the ASH Scientific and Education Programs Co-Chairs and Officers regarding acceptance and presentation of late-breaking abstracts is final.
  • Important note: To ensure that you are able to receive email correspondence from ASH, please make sure that your email software can receive mail from the confex.com and hematology.org domains. You should add ash@confex.com and ASHAbstracts@hematology.org to your address book. If after completing your submission you don't receive a confirmation email from the abstract system, you must contact your system administrator and make sure that both the confex.com and hematology.org domains are added to your email address whitelist. 

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Abstract Withdrawal

  • Authors can withdraw the late-breaking abstracts by the submission deadline of October 31, 2011. Abstract withdrawal requests received after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • ASH reserves the right to withdraw abstracts that are in violation of the Society’s policies and guidelines, such as those that have been previously published or presented, have been deemed scientifically unsound, or have been found to include inaccurate data, etc.

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Publication of the Late-Breaking Abstracts

  • The six late-breaking abstracts accepted for presentation at the ASH annual meeting will be published online with general submission abstracts as part of the online annual meeting program.
  • Late-breaking abstracts not accepted for presentation will not be published in any form.

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Abstract Submission Policies

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy

  • ASH is committed to ensuring the integrity of its scientific, educational, and research programs. The ASH Conflict-of-Interest Policy requires disclosure of any financial or other interest that might be construed as resulting in an actual, potential, or apparent conflict.
  • ASH abides by rules formulated by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) that require that you disclose any relevant financial relationship you or your spouse/partner have had within the past 24 months. For this purpose, “relevant financial relationships” are those from which you have received or may receive financial benefit and which are related to the CME content.
  • As a continuing medical education (CME) provider accredited by the ACCME, ASH must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all presentations at the ASH annual meeting.
  • By completing this section of the online abstract submission, you agree that you have read the ASH Conflict-of-Interest Policy and that you understand and support its intent.
  • This policy is not intended to prevent a presentation; it is merely intended to openly identify potential conflicts so that audience members may form their own judgments about the presentation with a full disclosure of the facts.
  • Abstracts will not be considered for the program without completion of disclosure information for all of the authors.

Author Responsibility Regarding Conflict of Interest Disclosure 

  • The presenting author is responsible for obtaining disclosure information from all co-authors.
  • All authors and co-authors are required to provide any relevant information concerning personal or professional circumstances and relationships that might reasonably be expected to affect the author’s view on the presentation.
  • This includes relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other companies whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. If no relevant relationships exist, this must be stated as well.

When to Disclose 

Please disclose any relationships or circumstances that might affect or appear to affect the research presented. These relationships include you or any individual with whom you directly share income.

What to Disclose 

You must disclose the relationship and state the name of the company for each of the following areas in which you maintain a relationship. Exact dollar amounts are not necessary. You will have the option to note that there is no information to disclose or to provide disclosure information pertinent to the abstract. Disclosed information pertinent to the abstract may include the following areas:

  • Employment
  • Consultancy
  • Ownership interests (including stock options) in a start-up company, the stock of which is not publicly traded
  • Ownership interest (including stock options, but excluding indirect investments through mutual funds and the like) in a publicly traded company
  • Research funding
  • Honoraria directly received from an entity
  • Patents and royalties
  • Paid expert testimony
  • Membership on an entity’s board of directors, speakers bureau, or its advisory committees
  • Any other financial relationship

Off-Label Use 

You will be required to note whether your presentation will include discussion of off-label use of products. If so, you must provide a brief explanation.

Other Areas 

During the disclosure submission process, you will also be required to indicate your compliance with the following:

  • If you are providing recommendations involving clinical medicine, these recommendations will be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indication and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to in support of a patient-care recommendation will conform to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
  • The content of the information with which you are involved will promote quality in health care or advances in science and will not promote a specific proprietary or commercial interest. Content for this publication will be well-balanced and unbiased.
  • If you have been trained or utilized by a commercial entity or its agents as a speaker (e.g., participation in a speaker’s bureau) for any commercial interest, the promotional aspects of that work must not be included in the presentation in any way.

Embargo Policy

  • Abstracts submitted to the ASH annual meeting are embargoed from the time of submission.
  • For the research to be eligible for presentation at the ASH annual meeting, information contained in the abstract, as well as additional data and information to be presented about the research at the annual meeting, may not be made public before the abstract has been published/presented at the ASH annual meeting.
  • Prior to the embargo being lifted, the first author, co-authors, and sponsor of the abstract must not:
    • Publish the information or provide it to others who may publish it.
    • Release the research/study to news media, or
    • Use the information for trading in the securities of any issuer, or provide it to others who may use it for securities-trading purposes.
     

  • An exception may be granted in cases in which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires a press release to comply with security laws. ASH will consider such requests on an ad hoc basis. More information on requesting such an exception can be found here.

  • If the Embargo Policy is violated, the abstract may be withdrawn by ASH from presentation at the annual meeting and from publication in print and online.

  • More detailed information about the Society’s Embargo Policy is located here. Please contact ASH Communications Manager Andrea Slesinski at aslesinski@hematology.org or 202-552-4927 with any questions.

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Electronic Signature

Completion of all required disclosure information in the online abstract submission system serves as an agreement and is accepted in lieu of a faxed signature. It certifies the ASH abstract submitter's understanding of the rules for participation contained in the online abstract submission program and affirms that:

  1. All authors approve of submitting this work for presentation and publication;
  2. The author(s) transfer(s) all copyright ownership of the named abstract to the American Society of Hematology (except when one or more authors are U.S. Government employees);
  3. All authors have read the ASH Abstract Conflict-of-Interest Policy and have acted in accordance with that policy;
  4. The author(s) agree(s) to materially confine the presentation to information in the abstract, if accepted for presentation. If an author has more than one abstract accepted, each presentation will be materially confined to the information in the abstract selected for the specific session;
  5. The presenting author will be available to present the abstract if selected for the program. The author(s) will immediately notify ASH if the presenting author must be changed; and
  6. The data in the late-breaking abstract are not expected to be published, either online or in print, by August 11, 2011, nor will they be materially presented at another major meeting (1,000+ attendees) or at any Friday Satellite Symposium prior to the ASH annual meeting.

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Sample Abstract

A sample abstract is provided for your reference below. Note that the title, authors, and institutions are entered in separate fields in the submission form, not in the abstract body, as they are not included in the character count.

An Intergroup Randomised Trial of Rituximab Versus a Watch and Wait Strategy In Patients with Stage II, III, IV, Asymptomatic, Non-Bulky Follicular Lymphoma (Grades 1, 2 and 3a). A Preliminary Analysis, Kirit M. Ardeshna, MD*,1, Wendi Qian*,2, Paul Smith*,3, June Warden,*,3, Lindsay Stevens*,3, Christopher FE Pocock, MD, PhD*,4, Fiona Miall, MD*,5, David Cunningham, MD*,6, John Davies, MD*,7, Jan Walewski8, A. Burhan Ferhanoglu, MD9, Ken Bradstock, MB, PhD10 and David C. Linch, MD, FMedSci*,111Haematology, University College London Hospitals, London, United Kingdom, 2 MRC Clinic, London, England, 3 Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre, London, United Kingdom, 4 Haematology, Kent and Cantebury Hospital, Cantebury, United Kingdom, 5 Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, United Kingdom, 6 Royal Marsden Hospital, London, United Kingdom, 7 Haematology, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, 8 Department of Lymphoproliferative Diseases, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Institute and Cancer Center, Warsaw, Poland, 9 Nispetiye Mahallesi, Istanbul, Turkey, 10 Haematology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia, 11 Haematology, University College London, London, United Kingdom 

Patients with asymptomatic, advanced stage, follicular lymphoma have shown no benefit of immediate chemotherapy when compared with a watchful-waiting approach, whereby chemotherapy is deferred until disease progression. Deferring chemotherapy may spare the patient the side effects of the chemotherapy in the short term and historically this has been the preferred approach. With the advent of rituximab and its relatively favourable side effect profile we designed this study to compare a watchful waiting approach with immediate treatment with rituximab.

Adult patients with asymptomatic stage 2, 3 or 4 follicular lymphoma (grades 1–2 & 3a) and adequate bone marrow reserve were randomly assigned with a ratio 1:1:1 to watchful waiting (arm A) or rituximab 375mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks (arm B) or rituximab 375mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks followed by rituximab maintenance every 2 months for 2 years (starting at month 3 until month 25)(arm C). The primary endpoints were a) time to initiation of new therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy) and b) effect on quality of life. The study was designed to detect an improvement in the median time to initiation of therapy in each of the rituximab arms of 18 months (from 30 months to 48 months) with 2.5% significance level and 90% power. A total of 230 events were required and 600 patients were planned. In September 2007, a decision was made to discontinue arm B as evidence of the efficacy of maintenance rituximab became clear. With the two arms comparison, using a significance level of 5%, a total of 360 patients in Arm A and Arm C were planned.

Between September 2004 and May 2009 462 patients were randomised (186 Arm A, 84 Arm B, and 192 Arm C). 95% of patients had low tumour burden (GELF criteria) the other 5% had raised LDH but fulfilled the remaining GELF criteria. 98% were entered into the study within 4 months of diagnostic biopsy. Median age 60yr (range27-87). 54% female. ECOG performance status 0=91% & 1=9%. Grade 1–2=89%. Stage 2(21%), stage 3(40%), stage 4 (39%). 42% had bone marrow involvement. FLIPI score: 0=9%, 1=26%, 2=41%, 3=22%, 4=2%.

In March 2010 the Data Monitoring committee concluded that the data regarding time to initiation of new therapy was mature and recommended full analysis of data to be performed and presented in the knowledge that rituximab maintenance was still ongoing in 20 patients. To date 45 SAEs have been reported (Arms A=14, B=6, C=25), 14 SAE were considered possibly, probably or definitely related to the study drug (Arm B=4, C=10). 5 allergic reactions (two grade 3), 6 infections, 3 episodes of grade 4 neutropenia. Responses were assessed at month 7, 13 and 25. CT was compulsory at months 7 and 25. Bone marrow was only required if CR on clinical and CT criteria. An interim analysis was performed on 9 Feb 2010. At month 7: Arm A: spontaneous remission was seen in 3%, PR=6%, NC (no change) =74%, PD=17%. Arm B: CR+CRu=45%, PR=33%, NC=19%, PD=3%. Arm C: CR+CRu=49%, PR=36%, NC=11%, PD=3%. At the time of the interim analysis 93 (20%) patients had initiated new treatment. Of these 93 patients 84 (90%) had clinically reported progression. New treatment was chemotherapy in 78 (84%), radiotherapy in 10 (11%), rituximab monotherapy in 2 (2%), surgery in 1(1%),currently not known in 2 (2%). The estimated median time to initiation of new therapy in arm A was 33 months, similar to our previous trial of watchful waiting (Ardeshna et al Lancet 2003). The time to initiation of new therapy was significantly longer in the rituximab arms (fig 1, p value of log-rank test <0.001 for each of rituximab arms vs arm A) and the median time was not reached at 4 years. Not all patients who were reported to have clinically progressed (n=142) warranted initiation of therapy (n=84). There were again significant differences in progression-free survival between the observation and rituximab arms (fig 2, p value of log-rank test <0.001 for each of rituximab arms vs arm A). 98% of patients remain alive and there was no different in overall survival between the 3 arms (p value >0.5). These data indicate that initial treatment with rituximab significantly delays the need for new therapy and this finding may change the management of patients with newly diagnosed asymptomatic follicular lymphoma.

Sample Abstract Figure 1 

Sample Abstract Figure 2 

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Contact Information

Send related correspondence and questions regarding abstract submissions or notifications to ASHabstracts@hematology.org.

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ASH Annual Meeting Registration and Housing

  • Please note that submitting an abstract does not register you for the ASH annual meeting. 
  • To register, you must complete and return an Attendee Registration Form, or register online.

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