Winter Hematology Meeting Highlighted by Talks on Immunotherapy, Personalized Medicine

Andre Goy, MD, MS

Andre Goy, MD, MS

Experts on hematologic malignancies will convene for the19th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, from February 20-21 in Miami, Florida, to provide insight into recent developments in the treatment of the diseases. The meeting, hosted by Physicians’ Education Resource (PER), will cover topics ranging from the future of the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) to the management of multiple myeloma and personalized medicine in lymphoma.

Andre Goy, MD, MS, one of the program chairs, said the meeting will focus on navigating through paradigm changes as they relate to novel agents, new prognostic markers, and new methods of stratifying patients.

“All talks have been shaped around helping the practicing oncologist and his/her team to appreciate the relevant changes in the field,” said Goy, chief of the Division of Lymphoma at John Theurer Cancer Center.

“[Other talks] will go deeper into the aspects of precision medicine, biomarkers, and cell therapies, which are all parts of the exciting reshaping [of] the hematology/oncology field.”

Myron S. Czuczman, MD, the other program chair of the congress, said the field of hematologic malignancies has seen some of the most prolific and productive clinical research and new drug development in the past few years.

“This type of meeting is going to provide a foundation for people not only in academics but also that are in private practice, the knowledge base that they need to appreciate in order to be ahead of the curve with respect to how to treat their patients today or in the very near future,” said Czuczman, chief of the Lymphoma/Myeloma Service and head of the Lymphoma Translational Research Laboratory at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Czuczman said 2015 will bring big advances to B cell receptor pathway inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates, and novel antibody constructs such as CAR-modified T cells.

Though data has been released regarding CAR-modified T cells for the treatment of CLL and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Czuczman predicts they will expand even further in hematologic malignancies.

Additionally, the congress will feature case study discussions on nine disease types, including CLL, indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, T-cell lymphoma, and acute leukemia.

“[These case studies] will be discussed to illustrate treatment paradigm and option changes.” Goy said. “Audience [members] will have the opportunity to not only present and discuss cases but also to meet experts in the field.”

The meeting features 18 faculty members, including Jeffrey Jones, MD, from Ohio State University, and Anas Younes, MD, chief of the lymphoma service, Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, chief of the myeloma service, and Dan Douer, MD, an attending physician in the leukemia service, all from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The congress will feature these presentations:

• The Future of CLL Therapy: Will Standard Chemotherapy Become Obsolete?
• What Is the Best Sequence of Therapeutic Approaches in Follicular Lymphoma?
• Current and Future Roles of B-Cell Receptor Inhibition
• Emerging Approaches to Improve Outcomes for Patients with Multiple Myeloma
• T-Cell Lymphoma: Changes Are Finally on the Horizon
• Optimizing Frontline Regimens in Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Current and Future Approaches
• How I Individualize Therapy for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
• Myelofibrosis and Polycythemia Vera: What’s New in the Clinic?