48th ASH™ Annual Meeting and Exposition
December 9-12, 2006

Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida

Education Spotlight Sessions

This year, ASH will continue to offer the well-received Education Spotlight Sessions, with six exciting topics planned. Each 90-minute session will be presented once, on Sunday afternoon or Monday, in a small-venue format for approximately 100 ticketed attendees. Two speakers will discuss the topic and reserve ample time for audience questions and participation. The talks will facilitate discussions of evidence-based practice, decision making, and controversies in diagnosis and management. The scientific lectures will address the current state of knowledge, translational and clinical applications, and future directions.

Ticket Prices (per session)

Member/Non-Member: $50
Associate Member/Non-Member in Training: $25

Individuals are limited to one ticket per session. The Education Spotlight Sessions are restricted to medical professionals only; no business persons or media will be admitted. Tickets may be purchased during the online registration process, or on the special Education Spotlight Sessions ticket order form in the Preliminary Program brochure. Please note that tickets purchased in advance will not be mailed and you will need to pick them up on site at the ticket counter in the West Building of the Orange County Convention Center.

ATTENTION FELLOWS!

As ASH encourages fellows to participate in these sessions, a number of tickets will be reserved for fellows. Tickets can be purchased in advance online or using the ticket order form, but proof of status as an ASH Associate member or non-member in training will be required; please show your name badge to the staff at the ticket counter when you pick up your tickets on site. (Tickets will not be mailed.)

A recent analysis of SEER data demonstrated an improvement in median survival for follicular lymphoma patients diagnosed in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s that predated the approval of rituximab. Now, phase III trials comparing conventional treatment to new regimens that incorporate rituximab are beginning to suggest a survival benefit for chemoimmunotherapy. There are many unanswered questions. Will these trends be sustained? How should radioimmunotherapy be incorporated into our treatment plans, and how will it impact survival? Should asymptomatic patients be treated with rituximab? How do we best sequence therapies to maximize outcomes?

In this case-based session, Dr. Jane Winter will review the status of rituximab as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced-stage follicular lymphoma. Controversies regarding the role of maintenance therapy will be addressed. The usefulness of clinically and biologically based prognostic models in planning and analyzing clinical trials will also be discussed.

Dr. Oliver Press will review recent data on the rationale, efficacy, and safety of utilizing Iodine-131-tositumomab and Yttrium-90-ibritumomab tiuxetan for treatment of patients with relapsed indolent lymphomas. Clinical trial results using radiolabeled antibodies for front-line therapy of follicular lymphoma and as components of transplant conditioning regimens will also be presented. Long-term effects including remission durability, myelodysplasia, secondary malignancies, hypothyroidism, and human anti-mouse antibody formation will also be summarized.

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Potentially the most common group of adult hematologic malignancies, MDS has moved from an ignored set of highly fatal disorders to an important group of neoplasms where treatment can alter the natural history of disease. Drs. Lewis Silverman and Steven Gore will review current classification and prognostic systems for MDS, recent modifications to the International Working Group response criteria, recently FDA-approved drugs, and current investigational therapies for MDS. Ideally, treatment should be individualized based on disease biology, and strategies for treatment algorithms to incorporate into daily practice will be discussed.

The treatment of multiple myeloma is rapidly evolving. Traditionally, therapy for this disease has been dependent on alkylators, corticosteroids, and, in selected patients, autologous stem cell transplantation. However, new active agents, such as thalidomide, lenalidomide, and bortezomib, have led to an array of therapeutic options and possibilities. In fact, the arrival of new agents and emerging data from recent randomized trials has resulted in several areas of controversy, particularly concerning the role of stem cell transplantation in myeloma. In this session, the current status of stem cell transplantation for myeloma, including issues such as early-versus-delayed, single-versus-tandem, and autologous-versus-allogeneic transplantation, will be covered. The changing paradigms in this field, given the arrival of novel agents, will be addressed.

Dr. Sundar Jagannath will address the role of tandem transplantation, choice of patients for mini-allogeneic transplantation, and maintenance therapy following transplantation.

Dr. Vincent Rajkumar will provide an overview of the approach to therapy, timing of transplantation, treatment of high-risk patients, and the impact of new agents on transplantation.

The session will highlight current controversies and feature case presentations with interactive discussions.

This session will focus on the most frequent pregnancy-associated consultations for the hematologist, which are those related to thrombophilia, the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, active thrombosis, and the thrombocytopenias (ITP, TTP, HELLP, DIC).

Using a case-based approach, Dr. Barbara Konkle will discuss the evaluation and management options for women who are considering pregnancy and have a history of thrombosis and/or pregnancy loss. Her presentation will include consideration of the genetic thrombophilias and the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. She will discuss for such women the risk of in vitro fertilization, as well as options for contraception after delivery. She also will discuss diagnosis and treatment of venous thromboembolism in the pregnant patient.

For women with ITP, pregnancy presents special treatment challenges that require consideration of both the mother and the fetus. Dr. Barbara Alving will discuss treatment options for ITP in this setting, including the safest means for delivery. She will also discuss the recognition and treatment of the acute onset of ITP, TTP, HELLP, and DIC in the pregnant patient.

The hematology consultant is often requested to evaluate the risk or management of hemorrhage in the peri-operative patient. The objective of this session will be to provide a case-oriented and practical approach to coagulation disorders in pre-operative and post-operative patients.

Drs. Charles Abrams and Arthur Thompson will together discuss their opinions on assessing the risk of bleeding in patients with thrombocytopenia, elevated prothrombin or activated partial thromboplastin times, or previous history of hemorrhage. They will also discuss the recognition of common post-operative acquired abnormalities in primary or secondary hemostasis that may contribute to a bleeding diathesis and the indications for blood components or hemostatic agents. Additional discussion will focus on the risks of anti-platelet agents and anticoagulants in the peri-operative period.

Although most previously untreated adults with primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) enter complete remission when treated with cytarabine and an anthracycline, such responses are often not durable. Post-remission therapy may prolong these remissions and provide a pathway to a cure. Commonly used strategies include intensive consolidation chemotherapy, less intensive maintenance therapies, immunotherapy, and autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Currently, clinical trials are evaluating the benefits and risks of these various treatments for clinically and biologically distinctive subsets of AML patients.

Drs. Frederick Appelbaum and Richard Larson will use a case-based approach that encourages audience questions and discussion to integrate present knowledge about the biological behavior of AML with optimal post-remission management. The session will highlight the known determinants of response in AML, such as age, antecedent hematologic disorders, cytogenetics, drug efflux and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, and specific molecular defects.