Hematologists to Discuss Breakthroughs in Blood Disorders in Madrid

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

More than 10,000 hematology professionals from around the world will gather and discuss the latest developments in hematology research and clinical practice. The 22^nd Congress of the European Hematology Association at the Feria de Madrid (IFEMA), Madrid, Spain will be home to these discoveries, a selection of which will be presented to the media.

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These developments cover a vast range of scientific topics from leukemia and lymphoma to platelet disorders, sickle cell disease, and bleeding disorders. They will be shared with the media during two EHA Press Briefings on June 23 and 24.

Prof Elizabeth Macintyre of Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades et Université Paris, France will moderate the first day of press briefings on Friday, June 23, from 08:30-10:00 hours CEST in Room Neptuno of the IFEMA.

Paul Hamlin will present his findings on the efficacy of cerdulatinib in 37 patients with different types of lymphoma who did not respond to standard treatment. Michaela Kotrova will prove that the more T-lymphocytes differ, the more effectively they fight against leukemia. Julia Hauer will talk about the relationship between delayed exposures to common infections and acute leukemia in children. Bill Lundberg will put the spotlight on CRISPR/Cas9 technology and its role in treating sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Finally, Shailaja Hegde will share the secrets of long-term platelets storage leading to an improved capacity to meet platelet transfusion needs.

Prof Anton Hagenbeek of Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands will moderate the second day of press briefings on Saturday, June 24, from 08:30-09:30 hours CEST in Room Neptuno.

This day starts with Peter Borchmann showing how metabolic response determination by FDG-PET allows substantial reduction of chemotherapy in patients with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma which ultimately leads to a better patient survival. Yi Lin will present the results from the primary analysis of ZUMA-1, a CAR-T-cell therapy for patients of aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma with response rate 7-fold higher compared to historical controls. Alejandro Lazo-Langner will present data that can change the way cancer patients of 65 years and older are treated with anticoagulants, possibly preventing mortality. Iskra Pusic will demonstrate the results of a phase 2 clinical trial where chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) patients positively respond to ibrutinib. Finally, Gilles Salles will bring hope to patients with B-cell lymphoma as he will present how manufactured CAR-T-cells can be highly effective as a new form of immunotherapy.

A complete description of these and all other congress abstracts are available here.

Our embargo policy applies to all selected abstracts in the Press Briefings. For more information, check our Congress Media Guidelines here. The program of the 22^nd Congress of EHA can be found here.