Cutting Edge Research in the Field of Haematology

The European School of Haematology (ESH) in association with the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) has presented the eleventh training course in the rapidly advancing field of blood and marrow transplantation. The meeting attended by internationally diverse experts, took place in Spain during April this year. State of the art research, including new insights into the treatment of myeloma, was presented by the faculty and clinical haematologists.

The eleventh European School of Haematology (ESH) and European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) training course on haemopoietic stem cell transplantation was conducted in April of 2007. The meeting took place at the beautiful setting of Alicante, one of the oldest and fastest growing cities of Spain. The aim of the course was to promote and facilitate access to novel and cutting-edge knowledge in the field of haematology. Similar to its predecessors, the eleventh meeting was highly successful and attended by numerous international experts within the field. As usual the three and a half day interactive program consisted of plenary power-point presentations, lectures, intensive discussions, case presentations, workshops and informal ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions concentrating on blood and marrow transplantation. Haematological transplantation is a dynamic medical field which is becoming increasingly popular in the treatment of various haematological disorders such as myeloma, lymphoma and solid tumours. Several of these diseases and numerous other topics were addressed during the seven core training sessions of the course:

• Session I : Stem Cell Biology and Procurement
• Session II : Choice of donor
• Session III : Transplant management and complications
• Session IV : HSCT in Leukaemia
• Session V : Infection
• Session VI . Research on stem cell therapy
• Session VII : Indications and results

One of the highlights of the conference included Dr. Harousseau’s presentation on multiple myeloma. He discussed the role of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) versus novel chemotherapeutic agents (such as thalidomide, bortezomib, lenalidomide) in the treatment of myeloma, particularly in patients with poor risk or advanced disease. He postulated whether the latter agents could replace or improve ASCT. Furthermore he discussed the benefit of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (for carefully selected patients) which to date, has had a controversial role in the treatment of myeloma. [J. Harousseau’s full power point presentation and other seminars can be accessed from the following website- http://www.esh.org/agenda07/ebmt/ebmtprog.htm] The ESH aims to continue providing educational and scientific conferences throughout 2008. The 12th ESH-EBMT Training course on Haemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation is set to be held in April 2008 in an Eastern European country.Source:

1. Apperley J, Carreras E, Gluckman E, Gratwohl A, Masszi T (Chairs). The 11th ESH-EBMT Training Course on Blood and Marrow Transplantation- Preliminary Programme, 2007. Available [online] at URL: http://www.esh.org/agenda07/ebmt/ebmtprog.htm
2. European School of Haematology (ESH), Euroconferences 2007. Available [online] at http://www.esh.org/conferences2007.htm