newsletter
November 2014
the official newsletter for members of the EHA
Contents
President’s Message
1
Newsletter 2.0
3
Hematology in Focus
4
4
6
- Unraveling the temporal evolution of iAMP21
- Endothelial cell-derived hematopoietic stem cells - (no longer) a niche product?
EHA Early Career Opportunities
8
Molecular biology and targeted treatment of myeloma
9
Scientific Highlights of the 19th Congress of EHA
12
EHA’s Medical Education Program; the latest update 14
European Professional Competence Survey
14
2014: The Outreach Program continued
15
The EHA-CME system and its users
16
Better treatment through better education: a European education strategy for the Personalized Medicine era
17
Key concerns of patients and clinicians tackled in the
EHA Advocacy Track 2014
18
A Roadmap for Research of Blood Disorders in Europe
19
Eha members: use your democratic rights to nominate candidates for the ballot and vote for new board members in 2015!
20
The Voice of Young Hematology
20
EHA thanks Jan Cools as he completes his term of office and welcomes a new board member, Shai Izraeli
21
What is Good Governance and why does EHA need it?
22
Members of EHA Committees and Units
23
EHA Scientific and Educational Events
24
Cover picture by Robin Foà – Turkey.
EHA Newsletter November 2014
­
President’s Message
> Dear Colleagues,
As the year nears its end we tend to dwell on the highlights of 2014.
Many miles were travelled and many mega-bites were used to
promote excellence in patient care, research and education in hematology in the past months. In this issue of the Newsletter we will look
back at events that took place, but also look forward to new developments, that I will present to you.
As of May 2015, the Newsletter will be completely restructured.
The future Editors in Chief, Elizabeth Macintyre and Stefan Fröhling
explain their plans for the new format in this issue (p 3).
2014 has seen the preparation and discussion over the past months
on several occasions by the EHA Board and Executive Board of the
EHA strategy 2015-2019. This resulted in the following key strategic
issues, which will serve as guide for our Association’s activities in
the next five years.
Supporting hematology research
One ambition stands out for the next few years: to reinforce EHA’s
role in supporting research in hematology. Examples to strengthen
EHA’s role in promoting and facilitating research include becoming a
source of information and/or a catalyzer for research calls and registries, but also taking a leading role in strategic research programs
and networks. A Research Committee will be established to create a
research portfolio, taking into account the current research activities.
In order to collect suggestions, this committee will consult a broad
group of experts. We will keep you updated on the developments. In
this issue you will find examples of research related activities and
information in the Hematology in Focus articles, the overview of the
plans of some of EHA’s Scientific Working Groups (SWG), a report
on the EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting Molecular biology and targeted
treatment of myeloma and a report on the scientific highlights of the
19th Congress of EHA in Milan by three experts (p 12-13).
Harmonization of education & training
Ambitions in the field of education & training include continuous
striving for the harmonization of education and training of hematologists throughout Europe. We will continue to offer top line education through our E-Learning Center and education meetings, and
by providing educational support to hematologists in less developed
regions in Europe and beyond. These ambitions should be recognized
at the national and European level and should foster equal aims
in other medical disciplines. To ‘measure’ and identify gaps in the
quality and entirety of hematology education and training in Europe,
EHA has launched the European Professional Hematology Competence Survey. In this Newsletter you can find a dedicated article with
all the details of this project (p 15). We encourage you to complete
the survey or identify eligible participants. More participants, means
better evidence!
EU Affairs
As a European organization, EHA has the responsibility to represent
and advocate the interests of hematology and hematologists in European politics where research, patient care, education and training
are concerned. EHA must help provide policy makers and politicians with expert opinion and sound evidence for them to be able to
make the best decisions on issues such as pricing, reimbursement,
Health Technology Assessment (HTA), regulatory issues, harmonization, evidence-based
prescription and priorities in research. To
increase efficiency where patient management is concerned, the development of treatment and diagnostic guidelines is instrumental. Currently EHA is
working on the Roadmap for Research of Blood Disorders in Europe
and a detailed outline of this project can be found on page 19. The
Association is also working on a guidelines project which will be
launched in 2015. More information about this will be published on
our website and on the next edition of the Newsletter.
Membership
EHA is foremost a membership and networking organization.
Continuous review of our services is crucial for the added value of
your EHA membership. One example of improving our services is the
simplified nomination procedure that was installed this year and will
be in place in 2015. EHA members will now nominate a candidate
for the ballot by submitting an online form, with supporting remarks
explaining the suitability of the proposed candidate.
Membership participation in our activities is crucial. As a European
Association, EHA builds on its relationship with National Hematology Societies. For next year we will intensify this with the aim to
complement each other’s activities and together create a stronger
position for hematology at a national and European level.
Public trust
As a non-profit and independent non-governmental organization
(NGO), EHA has responsibilities in the community. The public and
governments demand ethical behavior from those they entrust their
health and lives to: the healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals and organizations, such as EHA are expected to be open
about their activities but also their affiliations and financial relations
they have, especially with industry. In the article on “What is Good
Governance and why does EHA need it?” (p 22) you will find the elaboration on the important work of EHA’s Good Governance Committee
to ensure that EHA is working according to the core values of transparency, integrity and independence.
Before I leave you and on behalf of the EHA Board, I would like to
thank Irene Roberts and Tony Green for their work as Newsletter
editors. Under the guidance of Tony Green and Irene Roberts, the
Newsletter, in its current format, was published two times per year,
offering EHA members interesting reports and information on the
Association’s activities. The much appreciated Hematology in Focus
articles were introduced when they started their term in 2012.
In May 2015 the new format of the Newsletter will be introduced and
they will step down. Irene Roberts will keep an advisory role to the
editorial board.
Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jan Cools for his
contributions to the EHA Board in the past 4 years and welcome Shai
Izraeli as counselor to the EHA Board.
Enjoy reading this Newsletter!
Christine Chomienne
EHA President
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 1
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2 >
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­
Newsletter 2.0
> Dear Colleagues,
With this article, we would like to introduce ourselves as the
incoming Editors-in-Chief of the EHA Newsletter, in succession to Irene Roberts and Tony Green, and describe our plans
concerning the Newsletter’s format, which we hope will be
appealing to a broad readership among hematologists in- and
outside Europe.
First, we will put more emphasis on timely or particularly ‘hot’
topics related to the field of hematology. To this end, we have
assembled a fantastic team of Scientific Editors:
Lars Bullinger, Ulm, Germany
Clara Camaschella, Milan, Italy
Michael Milsom, Heidelberg, Germany
Frank Morschhauser, Lille, France
Ingrid Pabinger, Vienna, Austria
Melania Tesio, Paris, France
This team, with complementary expertise in the areas of basic,
translational, and clinical hematology – covering both benign
and malignant blood disorders – will discuss the latest scientific and clinical developments in our field on a regular basis. To
ensure that these synopses are always up to date, three issues
of the Newsletter will be published per year in January, May,
and September, with the first issue in May 2015. In addition
to the core group of editors, we welcome contributions from
colleagues who wish to cover a specific topic as guest editor,
and we encourage you to discuss your suggestions with us or
one of the Scientific Editors at any time. We are delighted that
Irene Roberts, who together with Tony Green developed the EHA
Newsletter into a fantastic resource, will remain on the Editorial Board as an advisor. The Editorial Board will also closely
interact with the Editor-in-Chief of Haematologica, Jan Cools,
and we plan to incorporate a ‘Best of Haematologica’ section,
including a graphical abstract to highlight particularly exciting
studies published in the official journal of our Association.
Second, we are interested in our readers’ personal experience and their views on various issues related to hematology.
For example, we invite submissions of particularly instructive
clinical cases, which should be worked up and discussed by
the contributing author, as we see this as a great opportunity
for clinicians to share their expertise with colleagues abroad.
We will also highlight the personal ‘stories’ of both established hematologists who have a long-standing relationship
with EHA as well as younger investigators, such as those who
were awarded an EHA Research Fellowship or participated
in the Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH)
curriculum and only recently became a member of the European hematology community.
also interested in the profiles and perspectives of our ‘nearneighbor’ European societies, such as the European Society
of Immunology or the European Association for Hematopathology. Another group that we would like to pay attention to in
the Newsletter; our partners in EHA’s Outreach Program. This
may launch ideas for appropriate interaction, which would be
in keeping with our aim to make our newsletter an interactive
forum for discussion and suggestions.
Fourth, the EHA Newsletter will remain an important outlet
for announcing new developments related to EHA, such as
symposia and workshops, funding opportunities, and political
issues, as well as a forum for the different EHA committees
to explain their work, thereby ensuring the transparency of the
Association.
newsletter
Finally, we wish to rename the EHA Newsletter to better reflect
its focus on the latest developments in basic, translational, and
clinical hematology. Suggestions from our readers are highly
welcome and should be directed to the Editorial Coordinators
at the EHA Executive Office in The Hague, Ineke van der Beek
and Jon Tarifa.
It is our sincere hope that the future EHA Newsletter will be an
informative and enjoyable read that will help hematologists to
keep abreast of the latest developments in their specific field,
our Association, and European hematology at large.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Macintyre & Stefan Fröhling, Editors-in-Chief
Please address your emails with questions and suggestions for the
future EHA Newsletter to [email protected]
Third, we would like to reach out to the different national societies and invite their representatives to present themselves
and their views on European hematology to support the dialog
between EHA and the various players within the heterogeneous
landscape of hematology in Europe. In a similar effort, we are
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 3
Hematology in Focus
Brief articles describing exciting recent advances in hematology research.
EHA has an extensive Career Development program, which allows young researchers to realize ­
part of their research plans. In the following two articles, Sébastien Malinge and Ruben Bierings, ­
EHA Research Fellowship winners in 2013, describe recent advances in research.
Unraveling the temporal evolution of iAMP21
> Chromosomal aberrations are hallmarks of cancer. Derivative chromosomes can harbor complex structural abnormalities, combining multiple gains, deletions, inversions, and/or
amplifications through several rounds of rearrangements (fig.
A). Classically, tumorigenesis is viewed as a stepwise process
in which acquisition of independent genetic abnormalities
cumulatively enhances the outgrowth of cancer cells. 1 High
throughput sequencing analyses have been instrumental to our
understanding of tumor biology, allowing us to precisely characterize the somatic landscape of genetic abnormalities in
tumor cell genomes. Recently, massively parallel sequencing
approaches have also shed light on novel types of complex rearrangements that can lead to a burst in tumor evolution in one
single event, such as chromothripsis.2 Chromothripsis (‘Chromo’
for ‘chromosome’ and ‘thripsis’ for ‘shattering into pieces’),
which is a one-off catastrophic rearrangement resulting in
derivative chromosomes that present a multitude of copy
number oscillations (fig. B), is observed in 2-3% of all
cancers.3 These complex chromosomal aberrations can
drive tumorigenesis through several mechanisms,
although how these structural rearrangements are initiated and evolve remains elusive.
A recent study by Christine Harrison’s group elegantly
addressed this question, by characterizing the
temporal evolution of intrachromosomal
amplifications of chromosome 21, known
as iAMP21.4 This type of somatic rearrangement occurs in up to 2% of B-cell
precursor acute lymphoid leukemia
(BCP-ALL), and defines a specific
subgroup of ALL restricted to older
children that is associated with poor
outcome.5 In their study, Li et al.
observed that children harboring
the rare constitutional Robertsonian
translocation,
rob(15;21)(q10;q10)c,
exhibit a 2,700-fold in­creased risk of
developing iAMP21 BCP-ALL. Importantly, in rob(15;21)c carriers and sporadic
cases, rearrangements of chromosome
21 were restricted to the iAMP21 allele,
suggesting that initial event(s) occurring in
one chromosome foster the entire amplification process.
To better understand this mechanism, they
combined massively parallel sequencing with
novel bioinformatic approaches to deduce the
4 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
nature and order of rearrangements occurring in the iAMP21
chromosome. Sequencing of five sporadic iAMP21 cases
first confirmed that the majority are initiated by telomeric
double strand breaks (DSBs), followed by breakage-fusionbridge (BFB) cycles, as previously described.6,7 In segments
rearranged by BFB cycles, a pattern characteristic of chromothripsis was observed: a high frequency of copy number
oscillations involving small chromosomal fragments in all four
possible orientations (fig. C). Sequencing of four carriers of
rob(15;21)c revealed that the derivative chromosome iAMP21
had a slightly different rearrangement history. In all four cases,
the amplification was initiated by chromothripsis affecting both
sister chromatids. Indeed, a characteristic pattern of back-andforth rearrangements spanning chromosomes 15 and 21 with
copy number oscillations between three states is observed in
each case. During this process, the centromere of chromosome
15 was systematically lost, suggesting that dicentric
chromosomes rearranged post-chromothripsis are
less stable. As a last step of amplification, partial
or whole chromosome duplications (WCDs) usually
complete the evolution of both somatic and constitutional derivative chromosomes, through the
formation of ring chromosomes or isochromosomes.
Taken together, these results strongly
suggest that chromothripsis is a driving
mechanism for iAMP21 formation. Several
mechanisms, which are not mutually exclusive, are advanced to explain chromothripsis,
including ionizing radiation, telomeric
shortening,
premature
chromosome
compaction, or micronuclei sequestration.3,8,9 Based on their observations,
the authors speculate that dicentric
chromosomes, such as rob(15;21)c
or those somatically created through
BFB, might trigger chromothripsis,
because they are prone to anaphase
bridging.
Finally, combining copy number distribution and transcriptional profiling, Li et
al. revealed that specific regions of chromosome 21 are consistently amplified in iAMP21.
These observations suggest that multiple
combinations of rearrangements affecting
specific regions of chromosome 21 might have
`Shattering`
2"
8"
1"
"
7"
Tandem duplication
First BFB
10
5"
4"
9"
1" 2" 3" 4" 5"
9" 10"
1" 2" 3" 4" 9" 3" 4" 9" 10"
1st"DSB"
1" 2" 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9" 10"
3"
6"
Dicentric chromosome
Mitotic DSB
DNA repair
10"
9" 5"
1" 2" 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9"
7"
Figure: Models of chromosomal rearrangements.
A. An example of a rearrangement of an acrocentric chromosome leading to the loss of
fragments 5-8, followed by a duplication of the region containing fragments 3, 4 and 9.
Dark circles : centromere.
B. Massive shattering of the chromosome followed by DNA repair, leading to a derivative
patterned chromosome composed of fragments in all four possible orientations.
C. In sporadic iAMP21, amplification is initiated by a double strand break (DSB), followed
by two rounds of Breakage-Fusion-Bridges (BFB) and chromothripsis, leading to multiple
copy number alterations in the derivative chromosome. Newly synthetized sister
chromatids are outlined.
occurred in different subclones, in order to achieve an appropriate dosage of several linked genes that might then provide
selective advantage to those subclones. Interestingly, these
regions contain several genes that have recently been linked to
BCP-ALL predisposition in Down syndrome children.10
The work by Li et al. is the first study to precisely establish the
spatial and temporal evolution of constitutional or somatic
rearrangements of chromosome 21, leading to iAMP21. Their
work presents compelling evidence that iAMP21 is the result of
an amplification process involving multiple types of chromosomal events: (1) formation of a dicentric chromosome; (2)
chromothripsis; and (3) duplication of the derivative chromosome. However, several questions remain: Why is iAMP21 ALL
predisposition only observed in rob(15:21)c carriers and not in
other Robertsonian translocations? Are there acquired genetic
events in sporadic cases that could favor iAMP21 formation?
How many aborted rearrangements occur prior to obtaining an
efficient iAMP21? The valuable tools that Harrison and
colleagues have developed will foster our understanding about
the formation of complex structural rearrangements that
simultaneously affect the dosage of multiple genes.
Author: Sébastien Malinge
INSERM U985, Gustave Roussy Institute, Villejuif, France
Sébastien Malinge received the EHA Research Fellowship
Award in 2013 during the 18th Congress of EHA in Stockholm,
for his project entitled: “Predisposing role of trisomy 21 in
Down Syndrome associated leukemia”
2nd"DSB"
7"
9" 6"
8" 5" 4" 3" 2" 1"
Second BFB
7"
9" 6"
8" 5" 4" 3" 2" 1"
7"
9" 6"
8" 5" 4" 3" 2" 1"
Chromothripsis
7"
9" 6"
8" 5" 2"4" 3"
1"7" 5"
4"
Deletion
C.#Sporadic#iAMP21##
4"
1" 2" 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9" 10"
B.#Chromothripsis##
1"
A.#Stepwise#model##
7"
References
1. Greaves M, Maley CC. Clonal evolution in cancer. Nature.
Jan 19 2012;481(7381):306-313.
2. Zhang CZ, Leibowitz ML, Pellman D. Chromothripsis and
beyond: rapid genome evolution from complex chromosomal rearrangements. Genes Dev. Dec 1 2013;27(23):25132530.
3. Stephens PJ, Greenman CD, Fu B, et al. Massive genomic
rearrangement acquired in a single catastrophic event
during cancer development. Cell. Jan 7 2011;144(1):27-40.
4. Li Y, Schwab C, Ryan SL, et al. Constitutional and somatic
rearrangement of chromosome 21 in acute lymphoblastic
leukaemia. Nature. Apr 3 2014;508(7494):98-102.
5. Mullighan CG. Molecular genetics of B-precursor
acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Invest. Oct 1 2012;
122(10):3407-3415.
6. Robinson HM, Harrison CJ, Moorman AV, Chudoba I, Stref­
ford JC. Intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome
21 (iAMP21) may arise from a breakage-fusion-bridge
cycle. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. Apr 2007;46(4):318-326.
7. Sinclair PB, Parker H, An Q, et al. Analysis of a breakpoint
cluster reveals insight into the mechanism of intrachromosomal amplification in a lymphoid malignancy. Hum Mol
Genet. Jul 1 2011;20(13):2591-2602.
8. Rausch T, Jones DT, Zapatka M, et al. Genome sequencing
of pediatric medulloblastoma links catastrophic DNA rearrangements with TP53 mutations. Cell. Jan 20 2012;148
(1-2):59-71.
9. Crasta K, Ganem NJ, Dagher R, et al. DNA breaks and
chromosome pulverization from errors in mitosis. Nature.
Feb 2 2012;482(7383):53-58.
10. Lane AA, Chapuy B, Lin CY, et al. Triplication of a 21q22
region contributes to B cell transformation through HMGN1
overexpression and loss of histone H3 Lys27 trimethylation.
Nat Genet. Jun 2014;46(6):618-623.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 5
Hematology in Focus
Endothelial cell-derived hematopoietic
stem cells - (no longer) a niche product?
> Bone marrow transplantation is one of the few treatment
options available for a variety of blood disorders that require
cell replacement therapy. This is achieved by hematopoietic
stem cells (HSCs) present in the transplant that are capable of
restoring all lineages of the hematopoietic system in the recipient. Unfortunately, in many cases HLA-matched siblings or
unrelated donors are unavailable, and, in some cases, allogeneic transplants can result in complications such as graft-versus-host disease. Human cord blood is another source of
HSCs, but as well as the same issue of suitable available
donors as with allogeneic bone marrow transplants, the low
number of HSCs in cord blood means that this strategy is less
suited for adult recipients with a large body mass.
Ever since the first generation and culture of pluripotent
embryonic stem cells from blastocysts1, attempts have been
made to reprogram cells to a pluripotent state, so called
immature pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)2, in order to generate
HSCs. Although holding great promise, iPSC-derived HSCs
often expand poorly and do not always stably engraft3, indicative
of suboptimal expansion conditions. What has often not been
included during the generation of HSCs is the contribution
provided by the stem cell microenvironment that is likely to
help in establishing the right balance between self-renewal and
differentiation.
In a recent paper, Sandler and coworkers from the Rafii lab
have reported a major breakthrough in efficient generation of
HSCs, which retain their stem cell characteristics and which
have improved engraftability, by adding the contribution of the
stem cell niche into the mix.4 During embryonic development
HSCs originate from an endothelial precursor5, providing the
rationale that a transcriptional program that is responsible for
this transition could be mimicked in endothelial cells (ECs) to
artificially reprogram them to HSCs.
By employing whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) of
umbilical cord HSCs and human umbilical vein endothelial
cells (HUVECs), differentially expressed transcription factors
were identified. Those enriched in HSCs were subsequently
tested for their ability to induce endothelial-to-hematopoietic
transition (EHT) when transduced into endothelial cells. A
minimal collection of four transcription factors was established
(FOSB, GFI1, RUNX1, and SPI1; FGRS) that together are capable
of reprogramming HUVECs and adult dermal microvascular
cells (hDMECs) into CD45+ hematopoietic cells (figure).
However, these cells were not yet capable of ex vivo expansion
or stable engraftment.
The second major advance was to recreate a microenvironment
that in vivo provides instructive cues for HSCs to establish
and/or maintain identity while inducing HSC proliferation. The
various signals that are provided through the niche, be they
physical, chemical or mechanical, are far from understood.
Taking into account the heterogeneity of stem cell niches (e.g.
bone marrow, placenta, and the aorta) and especially their
diverse (3D) architecture, it is remarkable yet elegant that this
can all be reconstituted in vitro by a monolayer of ECs.
Previous studies showed that endothelial cells can provide
the paracrine signals that allow for expansion of HSCs.6 To
prevent their differentiation, HSCs need to be expanded in an
environment free of serum and growth factors. This, however,
is incompatible with long-term survival of ECs in co-culture
Generation and expansion of multipotent progenitor cells (MPPs) from
with the Adenoviral E4ORF1 gene, forming a supportive, instructive layer of
endothelial cells. Endothelial cells isolated from umbilical veins (HUVECs) or
E4ECs for the expansion of endothelial-cell derived multipotent progenitor
dermal microvasculature (hDMECs) are reprogrammed by lentiviral
cells (rEC-hMPPs). rEC-MPPs were capable of differentiation into all four
transduction with a cocktail of four transcription factors (FOSB, GFI1, RUNX1,
major hematopoietic lineages in vitro and in vivo (NSG mice), with the exception
and SPI1). Simultaneously, another set of endothelial cells are transduced
of T cells.
6 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
might then be used to reconstitute the entire hematopoietic
system using the patient’s autologous cells, potentially offering
a cure for a wide variety of blood cell disorders without risks of
rejection.
Author: Ruben Bierings
Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Academic Medical Centre,
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Ruben Bierings received the EHA Research Fellowship Award
in 2013 during the 18th Congress of EHA in Stockholm, for his
project entitled: “Gatekeepers of the vasculature; regulation of
Weibel-Palade body exocytosis by syntaxin; Binding protein 1
(STXBP1)”
Ruben Bierings (left) receives his award from Tony Green, chair of the Fellowships
and Grants Committee, at the 18th Congress of EHA in Stockholm.
since in the absence of serum and growth factors the ECs
normally undergo apoptosis. The authors cleared this hurdle
by lentivirally expressing the adenovirus E4ORF1 gene product
in ECs (figure), a protein that increases survival in the absence
of serum/growth factors and promotes secretion of angiocrine
factors.7,8 The resulting E4ECs supported up to 400-fold
expansion of CD45+ haematopoietic multipotent progenitor
cells (MPPs) originating from reprogrammed ECs, which they
termed rEC-hMPPs. Subsequent analysis showed that rEChMPPs were capable of differentiation into virtually every blood
cell lineage, in vitro and in vivo, and durably engrafted in mice.
Importantly the authors were not able to show that engrafted
rEC-hMPPs could give rise to T cells in vivo, which they argued
might represent the lack of proper niches for T cell development
in the immunodeficient mouse model they used.
It is interesting to note that when one of the FGRS transcription
factors was taken away at a later stage (by putting expression
of SPI1 under the control of an inducible Tet-On promoter),
the emergence of a CD3+ T cell population was observed. This
suggests that the exact identity of rEC-hMPPs is not ‘set in
stone’ and that with further fine-tuning of FGRS expression,
lineage development can be steered into certain cell types.
Furthermore, the authors were capable of reprogramming
HUVECs and hDMECs, but not embryonic stem cell derived
endothelial cells (hES-ECs). Whether this means that not all
ECs are capable of reprogramming or that hES-ECs just require
a different cocktail of transcription factors is still unclear.
Looking ahead, the generation of MPPs and potentially true
HSCs from ECs using the protocol of Sandler and colleagues
offers a number of additional advantages that will bring
autologous corrective cell transplants several steps closer.
First, ECs are relatively easy to obtain; efficient isolation
protocols have been established to isolate blood outgrowth
endothelial cells from whole blood.9,10 Second, ECs can be
cultured for a number of passages and are easier to manipulate
genetically in comparison with HSCs. It may become feasible to
isolate patient derived ECs and correct gene mutations using
CRISPR/Cas9- or TALEN-based methods for genome
engineering. The resulting corrected, reprogrammed HSCs
References
1. Thomson J a., Itskovitz-Eldor J, Shapiro SS, et al. Embryonic stem cell lines derived from human blastocysts. Science.
1998;282(5391):1145–7.
2. Takahashi K, Yamanaka S. Induction of pluripotent stem
cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast cultures
by defined factors. Cell. 2006;126(4):663–76.
3. Slukvin II. Hematopoietic specification from human pluripotent stem cells: current advances and challenges toward
de novo generation of hematopoietic stem cells. Blood.
2013;122(25):4035–46.
4. Sandler VM, Lis R, Liu Y, et al. Reprogramming human endothelial cells to haematopoietic cells requires vascular induction. Nature. 2014;511(7509):312–8.
5. Jaffredo T, Gautier R, Eichmann A, Dieterlen-Lièvre F. Intraaortic hemopoietic cells are derived from endothelial
cells during ontogeny. Development. 1998;125(22):4575–83.
6. Butler JM, Nolan DJ, Vertes EL, et al. Endothelial cells
are essential for the self-renewal and repopulation of
Notch-dependent hematopoietic stem cells. Cell Stem Cell.
2010;6(3):251–64.
7. Seandel M, Butler JM, Kobayashi H, et al. Generation of a
functional and durable vascular niche by the adenoviral E4ORF1 gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2008;105(49):19288–
93.
8. Kobayashi H, Butler JM, O’Donnell R, et al. Angiocrine factors from Akt-activated endothelial cells balance self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells. Nat.
Cell Biol. 2010;12(11):1046–56.
9. Lin Y, Weisdorf DJ, Solovey a, Hebbel RP. Origins of circulating endothelial cells and endothelial outgrowth from blood.
J. Clin. Invest. 2000;105(1):71–7.
10.Martin-Ramirez J, Hofman M, van den Biggelaar M, Hebbel RP, Voorberg J. Establishment of outgrowth endothelial
cells from peripheral blood. Nat. Protoc. 2012;7(9):1709–
1715.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 7
research
EHA Early Career Opportunities
Do you need funds to support your research project? Or are you looking for
a boost to your translational research career? EHA offers financial support
to talented basic, translational and clinical researchers in malignant and
non-malignant hematology.
> Don’t miss the call for applications for the 2015 Program, opening in March 2015.
EHA Research Fellowships
Clinical Research Fellowships
For clinicians with a PhD or equivalent research experience
who wish to consolidate their research training or who are
establishing their own independent research groups.
Award: €80K/year for three years
Non-Clinical Junior Research Fellowships
For non-medical scientists with 1 – 4 years of postdoctoral
experience.
Best application is awarded the José Carreras Non-Clinical
Junior Fellowship
Award: €50K/year for three years
Non-Clinical Advanced Research Fellowships
For non-medical scientists with more than 4 years of post­
doctoral experience.
Award: €80K/year for three years
Joint Fellowships: two programs
EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship
The EHA-ISTH Joint Fellowship is a collaborative program
between EHA and the International Society of Thrombosis and
Haemostasis. It is intended to support the study of physiology of
coagulation, bleeding or thrombosis.
Award: €50K/year for two years
EHA-JSH Fellowship Exchange Program
The EHA-JSH Collaborative Exchange Program is intended to
provide European and Japanese research institutes with the
opportunity to exchange scientists and clinical researchers
reciprocally for a short period (up to 4 months).
Award: €10,000 or JPY 1,000,000
EHA-ASH Translational Research Training in Hematology
(TRTH)
A unique, year-long training and mentoring experience -for
junior hematological scientists to build successful careers
in translational research. Twenty early-career scientists are
selected each year to participate in this rigorous training
program. TRTH faculty is made up of international leaders in
hematology who cover biostatistics and biomarkers, genetics
and molecular biology, ethics, and phase I clinical study design.
For more information visit the career
section at ehaweb.org
EHA Fellowship Award Winners
2014 in Milan, June 2014
8 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
research
Molecular biology and targeted
treatment of myeloma
EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting
In order to offer a platform to promote high quality science, EHA supports currently 18 Scientific Working Groups (SWGs)
in the various fields of interest in hematology. Most recently the SWG Elderly Task Force in Hematology was established.
One of the first established SWG’s, the SWG on Multiple Myeloma, co-organized with EHA a Scientific Meeting in
Barcelona, Spain in September. This meeting welcomed 122 participants. Below you can read the report of this meeting.
Risk stratification and molecular subtyping
> Defining risk status in myeloma has traditionally used
cytogenetic testing but the advent of new technologies is
rapidly superseding this approach. We have characterized
the most significant recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities
with clinical prognostic value. The major challenge for
cytogenetics in myeloma is to obtain metaphase in a disease
that is characterized by a low proliferative rate. In this respect,
in trials done over a network of clinical centers, metaphases
are obtained in only 30% of cases making it inappropriate for
purpose. This does not deny the value of cytogenetics, which
seems to capture high-risk biology because of an ability to
grow in-vitro, but it doesn’t lend itself fully to understanding the
biology across the spectrum of myeloma.
The advent of FISH allowed the relevant variables to be detected
in almost all cases, but has been applied in a non-standard
and non-uniform fashion, which has led to misinterpretation
of the data. This has been made more obvious since the
understanding that single molecular variables collaborate
to increase risk. Thus, single risk factors are not specific
for high risk and so to be certain of the risk status of an
individual, all poor risk abnormalities have to be tested for in
a standardized fashion. The diagnostic testing strategies for
myeloma specific variables has improved and gene-mapping
technology can readily recognize all of the copy number
variables in myeloma, but it still needs an approach to detect
chromosomal translocations. Detecting translocations in this
setting can be achieved by a simple RT-PCR for the genes,
which characterize the translocation subgroups making it a
relevant test. However, with the development of NGS strategies,
all of the molecular abnormalities, including myeloma specific
mutations, can now be detected in a single myeloma specific
test. NGS-based diagnostics are excellent for making targeted
treatment decisions but the question remains is this the best
way of defining risk status? In this respect gene expression
profiling may offer the optimum approach because with good
laboratory technique and quality control it can accurately define
risk groups, irrespective of the molecular status of the DNA
extracted from plasma cells. It can therefore offer an approach
that allows patients to be entered into risk-stratified trials. This
is of crucial importance because it has become clear that we
are not improving the outcome of HR cases and this can only
be addressed by the establishment of specific clinical trials in
this setting.
given the reliance of plasma cells on
protein folding for antibody production.
Clinical trial results
Etiology
The cause of myeloma can only be understood by studying
myeloma in the context of its origin within the bone marrow
and germinal center. It seems clear that aberrant class switch
recombination in the germinal center reaction can immortalize
a plasma cell that will eventually result in myeloma. In addition,
we now understand that chromosomal translocations also seem
to result from aberrant VDJ recombination either happening in
the bone marrow or via a similar process in the germinal center.
It is also clear from the application of NGS sequencing of the
region around MYC, that translocations and other molecular
changes occur frequently at MYC making it the most common
change and a change that is associated with impaired outcome.
These features make it important to detect if prognostic tests
based on the plasma cell clone are to be used.
GWAS analyses carried out between the German and British
group have defined a set of genes, which contribute to the
etiology of myeloma. The GWAS approach has identified
frequent low risk variables that contribute to the population
risk of developing myeloma but higher penetrance variables
have not been identified as yet. Thus, it has become clear that
myeloma has a genetic contribution which involves a set of
genes but overall the risk is not high and for individual patients
the familial risk is not significant.
The European Myeloma Network
(EMN) has carried out a range of clinical trials and shown
that autologous stem cell transplantation is better than
standard treatment. In addition, studies have identified the
value of induction and ongoing treatment post-induction with
lenalidomide both in transplant eligible and ineligible patients.
A further EMN study will extend insights into the relative value
of high-dose or standard-dose post-induction consolidation.
A risk-stratified study based on routine centralized GEP
testing to identify cases with high risk defined by the EMC92
signature is being planned. The infrastructure for cell storage
and risk status determination has been put in place in several
laboratories distributed across Europe. The approach for
biobanking and expression analysis can now be standardized,
which is the only way that we will make progress with riskstratified and molecular subtype specific approaches.
Guidelines
If research groups and global collaborations are going to
proceed rapidly, it is important that we have a language and
approach that is standardized for this purpose; guidelines are
essential. In particular, the time is ripe for a guideline on the
definition of high-risk disease that is globally applicable. The
same is true for the novel endpoints that are essential for the
design of new trials that give results in a clinically meaningful
timescale suitable for making clinical progress for myeloma
patients. The standardization of residual disease measurement
(by flow cytometry and NGS) is essential because the level of
response is crucial to defining outcome.
Conclusion
Targeted treatment and diagnostic testing
Mutational analysis of myeloma has identified mutations of the
RAS/MPK pathway in up to 50% of cases making this a significant
therapeutic target. There are agents, which modulate this
pathway and in particular mutations in BRAF (4% of the total)
can be inhibited by a range of commercially available agents. It
has been clearly shown using these agents that inhibiting BRAF
in mutated cases results in clinical responses. Many mutations
are not present in all of the cancer cells so even if they are totally
eradicated, clinical responses may not be seen. This shows that
modulating the RAS pathway can lead to responses and what
we now need to do is to fully understand how to successfully
modulate the pathway to improve patient outcomes.
Because of the intraclonal heterogeneity identified by NGS
studies it is possible that even targeted treatment might be
associated with rapid acquisition of resistance. It is important
therefore to target lesions that occur in all cancer cells, such as
the translocations which deregulate MMSET. Another approach
is to target a plasma cell specific process such as protein
homeostasis which may offer an ‘Achilles heel’ of myeloma
10 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
We have reached a significant level of cross-country colla­
boration across Europe, which is pushing forward clinical
outcomes for patients with myeloma. The next few years should
see further improvement in outcomes as we move to targeted
treatment trials based on molecular diagnostics that are fit for
purpose and routinely applied across Europe allowing patients
to be entered into subtype-specific trials for the first time.
Author: GJ Morgan
Gareth Morgan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
(UAMS) Myeloma Institute for Research and
Therapy (MIRT) in Arkansas, USA.
On behalf of the SWG Multiple Myeloma, Professor Morgan
organized and chaired the EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting:
Molecular biology and targeted treatment of myeloma and
wrote this report.
The SWG Multiple Myeloma has 200 members in European
countries and 20 members from outside Europe, including
Turkey, Canada and India.
EHA-SWG SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
REGISTER NOW FOR ONE OF THE UPCOMING MEETINGS:
Red Cell and Iron Disorders,
and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
(MDS)
Integrated approach of
demanding hematological
diagnoses, from MDS to leukemias
Dates:
Location:
Organized by:
Dates:
Location:
Organized by:
Diagnosis:
Chair:
Chairs:
March 6-8, 2015
Lisbon, Portugal
EHA, SWG Red Cell and Iron &
SWG MDS
SL Thein and P Fenaux
September 10-12, 2015
Barcelona, Spain
EHA and SWG Leukemia
morphology and flow cytometry
MC Béné
Aging and Hematology:
the next questions...
Hemostasis imbalance
Critical issues and therapeutic
approaches
Dates:
Location:
Organized by:
Dates:
Location:
Organized by:
Chair:
May 8-9, 2015 (TBC)
Lisbon, Portugal
EHA and SWG Elderly Task Force in
Hematology
D Bron
Chairs:
September 18-20, 2015
Barcelona, Spain
EHA and SWG bleeding and
thrombosis in onco-hematology &
SWG thrombocytopenias and platelet
function disorders
A Falanga and C Balduini
For more information, visit ehaweb.org
research
Scientific Highlights of
the 19th Congress of EHA
The most recent Annual Congress of EHA in Milan was a success, not only because of the varied scientific program but also
because it reached a new record of 11,000 delegates. The 18 Educational Sessions, were as usual very popular and well
attended. Also the presidential symposium and the newest ‘late breaking abstract’ sessions were well received. To get an
overview of the content of the program, we asked three experts to report on interesting updates in their area of expertise.
Highlights in myeloid malignancies (Stefan Fröhling, Heidelberg, Germany)
> The Education Program provided a comprehensive overview of the current state of basic, translational, and clinical
research in the areas of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS),
acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia
(CML), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). A highlight
of the Opening Ceremony was the José Carreras Lecture, in
which Dr Hartmut Döhner reviewed the use of genetic profiling
to inform clinical decision-making in patients with AML.
Particularly exciting basic research findings included the discovery of the molecular mechanism underlying aberrant EVI1
expression in ultra-high-risk AML (Stefan Gröschel et al., Presidential Symposium); the emerging molecular landscape of
Philadelphia chromosome-negative CML (reviewed by Jeffrey
Tyner, Hematology-in-Focus); the issue of
clonal evolution in myeloid malignancies,
as exemplified by a groundbreaking study
showing that the order of mutation acquisition influences the biological and clinical
behavior of MPN (David Kent et al., LateBreaking Oral Session); and the initiation
and progression of AML by pre-leukemic stem cells, which was
reviewed by Paresh Vyas (Hematology-in-Focus) and the topic
of several presentations (Liran Slush, Ulrich Steidl) as well as
a lively debate during the Molecular Hemopoiesis Workshop.
Encouragingly, many presentations illustrated the potential
of fundamental research into myeloid leukemogenesis for the
identification of candidate therapeutic targets, such as CD99 in
MDS/AML stem cells (Stephen Chung, Simultaneous Session)
and CDK6 in MLL-rearranged AML (Theresa Placke, Simultaneous Session). The strength of such translational approaches
is perhaps best exemplified by efforts from multiple groups to
clinically exploit insights into aberrant epigenetic regulation in
AML. Recent developments in this rapidly moving field were
reviewed in a Scientific Working Group Session (Brian Huntly),
the Education Program (Olivier Bernard, Ari Melnick), a Hematology-in-Focus Session (James Bradner), and the closing Plenary Session (Scott Armstrong).
Finally, the program included a number of clinical studies that
support the concept of molecular mechanism-based therapy of
myeloid malignancies. For example, promising results from a
12 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
phase-1 clinical trial were presented by Agresta et al. (LateBreaking Oral Session), who reported that an oral inhibitor of
mutant IDH2 was well tolerated and triggered terminal differentiation of leukemic blasts in patients with IDH2 mutant
AML, which translated into a high rate of objective responses,
including complete remissions, in this genetically defined AML
subset.
Highlights in B-cell malignancies (Pieter Sonneveld, Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
B-cell malignancies were the topic of several interesting and
interactive sessions. Peter Hillmen reported a landmark trial
of Ibrutinib, a Bruton kinase inhibitor, as a novel approach to
treating relapse/refractory CLL in comparison to Ofatumumab,
the standard anti-CD20 antibody. These outcomes were recently
published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Wyndham
Wilson described a new approach to
treating Burkitt lymphoma with an outpatient treatment algorithm and in Hairy
Cell Leukemia, where patients carry a
V600E mutation in the BRAF gene, Enrico
Tiacci (Italy) reported that Vemurafenib,
an oral BRAF inhibitor developed for
metastatic melanoma, was effective: in a group of 28 patients
requiring therapy, the drug was well tolerated and the overall
response was 96%. Future developments may focus on combining this drug with other B-cell-targeting drugs such as MEK
inhibitors.
Among the submitted abstracts, the randomized Panorama
trial in relapse or refractory multiple myeloma, showed superior survival of Panobinostat combined with Bortezomib and
Dexamethason, presented by Jesus San
Miguel. Elena Zamagni (Bologna) demonstrated the value of PET-CT in confirming
persistent disease in patients with a
complete response of multiple myeloma,
which may change our clinical approach,
and the revised ISS staging system was
presented. This system is composed of
the old ISS plus FISH cytogenetics and
serum LDH and is based on data from
large European trials.
In addition to clinical presentations, a
large number of preclinical abstracts
were presented in the main program and
in the sessions of the scientific working
groups, including lymphoma biology,
molecular genetics of multiple myeloma,
CLL, and malignant lymphomas. In the
plenary sessions, Elias Campo reported on the genetics of CLL
and Keith Stewart explained the relevance of the genetic background of multiple myeloma in drug response and therapeutic
outcome.
While this is only a small selection of the presentations on
B-cell malignancies, it illustrates the major developments in
our understanding of these diseases and the increasing therapeutic options that are available to patients today.
Highlights of hemostasis and thrombosis
(Anna Falanga, Bergamo, Italy)
Hemostasis and thrombosis issues were an important part of
the 19th Congress of EHA, including four Education sessions,
one Plenary Special EHA-ISTH Collaboration Lecture, three
Hematology-in-Focus, three Meet-the-Experts, and one lunch
debate, as well as three oral and four poster sessions. The
Lunch Debate ‘Are thrombophilia markers relevant to identify
patients at high thrombosis risk?’ was very well attended and
successful. The Hematology-in-Focus sessions:
1. Emergency evaluation and treatment of hemostasis
disorders
2. Platelets in bleeding and thrombosis
3. The lesser-known side of rare bleeding disorders
provided the most recent advances in the basic and clinical
research on the diagnosis and treatment of bleeding diseases
and on the complex and diverse contribution of platelets to
hemostasis.
The focus of the Education session on thrombosis was on the
new direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Sam Schulman gave
an excellent introduction on the anticoagulant drug development from the Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) to the novel oral
direct inhibitors of Factor X and Factor II. Armando Tripodi discussed the role of laboratory testing in the era of this new class
of antithrombotic drugs highlighting the need for availability in
all hospital of standardized and easy laboratory tests for DOACs
and providing useful indications for when to measure the anticoagulation level in patients starting on long-term treatment
with these drugs. Finally, Paul Kyrle summarized the results of
the recent clinical trials of DOACs in venous thromboembolism
(VTE) treatment and addressed the question as to what extent
these new anticoagulants will change treatment strategies both
for acute and extended VTE treatment.
Currently, there is evidence from large
clinical trials that DOACs are as effective and at least as safe as the standard
LMWH+VKA for treatment of VTE. In the
Plenary session, Sabine Eichinger gave
a comprehensive overview of the issues
of VTE treatment in the special setting of
cancer patients.
With regard to hemostasis, the relevance of experimental animal models
in research on bleeding disorders was
shown by Timothy Nichols in the Education Session on Bleeding. In the same
session, Anne Goodeve reviewed the
most recent advances in understanding
of von Willebrand Disease (VWD). In particular, the field of VWD research continues to be very active, providing increasing insight into our
ability to accurately diagnose and categorize patients with this
disorder. Augusto Federici then described the management of
patients with acquired von Willebrand Syndrome and acquired
Hemophilia A, two rare severe conditions that need to be immediately recognized and properly treated. Along the same lines,
in the Education session on non-malignant pediatric hematology, Flora Peyvandi summarized the principal inherited rare
bleeding disorders (RBDs) that represent 3-5% of all inherited
coagulation deficiencies. Importantly, in recent years, interest
in the production of specific products for the RBDs has grown
and clinical trials have been designed thanks to the cooperation of international networks and registries for these diseases.
As a result, patients with a very rare factor deficiency, FX deficiency, can now receive specific plasma-derived factor concentrate. A new specific concentrate for FV deficiency is also currently under evaluation for orphan drug designation.
20th Congress of EHA
The Scientific Program Committee is working at full speed
on the preparations and setting up of the invited speaker and
abstract program for the next congress in Vienna. Exciting
changes to the program will be introduced, one of which is a
new session type which will bring more basic science into the
program. The abstract submission will open on January 1,
2015, so don’t forget to submit your abstract! For more information on the congress and the submission guidelines, visit our
website at www.ehaweb.org.
We look forward to welcoming you next year in Vienna.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 13
Education
EHA’s Medical Education Program
the latest update
> In previous Newsletters we informed you about EHA’s
Learning Center. This platform offers various learning
tools, which content is tagged to the European Hematology
Curriculum. All content is peer-reviewed by the EHA’s Review
Board, which is chaired by Professor Gert Ossenkoppele.
The Review Board, consisting of 8 members plus numerous
associate reviewers are involved in the continuous quality check
you may expect from the learning materials we offer.
Over the past months EHA’s Learning Center expanded. New
materials recorded at the 19th Congress of EHA have been
> The European Professional Competence Survey is
launched. The survey aims to monitor the development of
professional competences in hematology in Europe.
The European Professional Competence Survey is based on
the self-assessment of knowledge, skills, and competences
of hematologists in training and hematologists who recently
completed their specialty training. Based on this selfassessment, the survey will allow the quality and completeness
of hematology training provided throughout Europe to be
assessed as well as identifying areas in educational programs
which need to be further improved at national and regional
levels. Improving education should raise overall standards in
hematology and ultimately improve patient care.
The competence survey will be used to support further
harmonization of training in hematology throughout Europe.
The results of the survey are also important to reinforce the
position of hematology in the political arena. The successful
establishment of hematology as a mono-specialty in Europe
will lead to better funding of research and international training
initiatives. In addition, a stronger voice for hematology in
Europe will lead to the distribution of more financial support for
treatment of hematologic diseases, ultimately benefitting our
patients.
The competence survey follows the structure of the European
Hematology Curriculum, which is the official standard for
specialty training in hematology in Europe. Many of the 27
countries that endorsed the curriculum have implemented this
detailed description of the hematology specialty in their training
14 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
published at the EHA Learning Center. This prompted many
EHA Congress delegates, but also those who were not able
to be present in Milan, to visit this online platform. Members
have free access to webcasts, abstracts, e-posters, education
manuscripts, and more. Until the end of October EHA Congress
delegates also received free access to the EHA Learning Center.
The best way for this group to keep - and for others to gain access to all materials on the EHA Learning Center indeed is to
become EHA Member.
In the context of the EHA Medical
Education Program new materials
continuously are being developed.
In order to best match the
requirements in education of
hematologists and hematology
trainees, EHA investigates the
needs and wants of event
participants and users of the EHA Learning Center. The
European Hematology Competence Survey is an important
project to gain such intelligence. program. EHA has also adopted the European Hematology
Curriculum as the basis for all its educational activities, most
prominently in the CV Passport learning tool.
By participating in the competence survey, participants will also
benefit at an individual level. The self-assessment can be used
to monitor personal competences, skills, and knowledge over
time and to compare these with other European hematologists.
It goes without saying that the input of individual participants
will be strictly confidential and will never be disclosed to any
third party.
Raising European Hematology standards
Please support this project. Participants may come from
any European countries:
Are you? • Trainee - between 12 and 18 months prior to completion
of your hematology training
• Hematologist – between 6 months prior and 24 months
after completion of your training
Your input is invaluable!
If you are not eligible to participate yourself, please identify
colleagues who are and make them aware of this important
initiative.
More information and registration is available through the
Education section of our website, ehaweb.org. Education
2014: The Outreach Program continued
The third year of the Association’s official Outreach Program is almost completed and the number of activities has grown again,
reaching a total of 12 collaborative projects. Through our Outreach Program we share information and knowledge and create
networks which allows hematologists in many different places to benefit from this. The variety of meetings and events organized in
close partnership with local societies forms the strong basis of the program. Each program is tailor-made to meet the needs of the
local attendees of the meeting and is created together with the local chairs.
> Partners from many different countries in the world
invited EHA to collaborate in
joint programs and events.
There were 2 projects in
Eastern Europe (Tallinn &
Russian Federation), with
a third project in Ukraine
Jorge Sierra, EHA (left) and Teoman
having to be postponed
Soysal, President Turkish Society of
due to the current unrest.
Hematology in October 2014
In Eastern Europe bordering the Middle East, the
long-standing relationship with the Turkish Society of Hematology has resulted in two projects as well. On top of that, the
continuing collaborations in Asia gave way to two projects in
India and one in Korea. The Turkish Society of Hematology (TSH)
and the Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion
(ISHBT) are exemplary for the Outreach Program as a whole.
The extensive discussion between the leadership of EHA and of
TSH and ISHBT has resulted in an expanding number of joint
projects. EHA is an active participant in the Turkish School
of Hematology, a project run by TSH and focused on providing
graduate medical education to Turkish students over the course
of 3 years, in which EHA paricipates.
place last September in Kolkata, it was decided to further this
line of collaboration with a tutorial every other year. The structural collaboration with TSH as well as ISHBT recently has been
officially acknowledged by signing a multi-year Memorandum of
Understanding.
Looking ahead to the upcoming year, there are some exciting
new collaborations in process that are resulting in joint projects. Most notably, the partnership with the Pan-Arab Hematology Association (PAHA) is creating a platform for collaboration within a large number of Arab countries, including, but not
limited to, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and Oman. EHA’s role
as an advisor and partner in this project is the delivery of a
substantial part of the content of the upcoming fourth Pan-Arab
Hematology Association Congress
For a full overview of EHA’s Outreach Program 2015 please take
a look at the EHA website, www.ehaweb.org.
EHA and the Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (ISHBT)
leadership and faculty for the Tutorial in September 2014
Similarly, the fruitful relationship between EHA and ISHBT is also
leading to more structural collaboration. The start was made
with joint symposia at the ISHBT annual meeting, which has a
different format and size each year to match the setup of the
meeting. The first stand-alone meeting organized in collaboration with the Indian Society was Highlights of the 16th Congress of
EHA. During the Tutorial on Lymphoid Malignancies, which took
Overview of 2014 Outreach activities:
PAHA-EHA Congress Highlights - Saudi Arabia
Chairs: Amal Al Abdul Wahab, Naim
Chaudri, Amal Al Beihani, R Foà
February 12-13, 2014
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
TSH-EHA Hematology Tutorial on
Consultative Hematology – Case Based
Chairs: S McCann, T Soysal, R Foà, M
Demir, MF McMullin
June 28-29, 2014
Van, Turkey
Hematology Tutorial on Thrombosis,
Hemostasis and Iron
Chairs: E Laane, R Lassila, S McCann
September 12-14, 2014
Tallinn, Estonia
ISHBT-EHA Hematology Tutorial on
Lymphoid Malignancies
Chairs: M Chandy, R Foà
September 26-28, 2014
Kolkata, India
EHA - Russian Onco-Hematology Society
Joint Symposium
October 23-24, 2014
Moscow, Russian Federation
EHA - Turkish Society of Hematology Joint
Symposium
October 24, 2014
Antalya, Turkey
EHA - Indian Society of Haematology &
Blood Transfusion Joint Symposia
November 8, 2014
Hyderabad, India
EHA - Korean Society of Hematology Joint
Symposium
November 14, 2014
Huangzhou, Korea
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 15
Education
The EHA-CME system and its users
> Rapidly growing developments in
the field of hematology require health
care practitioners to be updated regularly in order to provide patients with
best available care. To this extend Continuous Medical Education (CME) is
developed; education for medical professionals, which strives to update and
improve their level of competence and
teaches them about new and developing
areas in their field of interest and expertise.
The EHA-CME Unit provides an independent accreditation system that assesses
education programs to make sure they
are of high quality, relevant, and unbiased. This unit works under the guidance
of standards and guidelines that give
utmost importance to minimizing the
impact of industry bias on educational
programs and state-of-the-art research.
After being assessed and reviewed,
Image 1.
Distribution of active users in 2013 – countries of origin.
There could be a relation between the countries of origin of the active users for the year 2013 and the
countries that hosted accredited meetings in that year. This may indicate that collecting EHA-CME
credits becomes relevant for users when they attend meetings locally. Alternatively, attending an
accredited event may prompt participants to create an account for credit collection or log in to their
pre-existing account and collect their credits.
Spain
Other
United
Kingdom
Slovakia
Bulgaria
Canada
Ireland
Austria
Germany
United Arab Emirates
Turkey
Saudi Arabia
Belgium
Italy
Romania
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Greece
the Netherlands
France
Czech
n = 1639
Republic
Image 2. Distribution of countries where accredited events took place in 2013.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to see the wide variety of countries where the online system is being
used and also to see that it extends to locations outside Europe.
Italy
Other
Ireland
Spain
Germany
United Kingdom
Turkey
the Netherlands
n = 20
Portugal
16 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
France
accredited meetings grant credit points
to participants. Participants are then
able to keep track of their points and history of events in an online database, a
service that is offered free of charge and
independently from EHA membership.
Users of the CME online system are practitioners not only interested in keeping
track of their history of accredited events,
but also in claiming their credits for educational activities. Registration is open to
individuals with an active interest in the
field of hematology. These users come
not only from Europe, but from other
parts of the globe as well.
An overview of the geographical spread is
a snapshot of the system usage by health
care practitioners in 2013 (image 1).
Here, active users refer to all users who
logged in at least once throughout the
year.
Advocacy
Hematopolitics
Better treatment through better education:
a European education strategy
for the Personalized Medicine era
How to create awareness of Personalized Medicine and
integrate it into the EU health strategy? These questions were
discussed in the Bibliothèque Solvay in Brussels during a 2-day,
multi-disciplinary stakeholder meeting organized by the
European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM), in
September 2014. The issues raised in this meeting were
discussed by faculty and participants from different
backgrounds: patients, clinicians, researchers, academics,
industry representatives, lawmakers and more. EHA was
represented in this meeting by Christine Chomienne, EHA
President and Ulrich Jäger, chair of the European Affairs
Committee. They were involved in several sessions to share the
hematologist’s perspective. Christine Chomienne delivered the
following speech on ‘Education and training strategy’.
> “Why are we talking about an educational strategy in
personalized medicine? For those who were with us last year
in Dublin (Ed. Conference on innovation and patient access
to Personalised Medicine was organized by EAPM in Dublin,
Ireland – March 20-21, 2013), you may remember that we
decided that by 2020 the EU should support the development
of a Europe-wide curriculum to educate healthcare professionals in the Personalized Medicine era. A small working group
of EAPM stakeholders, including EHA, have started working on
a document-which I think you’ve all read - of about five pages
that describes how we should tackle the project. I will give you
are few key points from the working group to start the discussion. We need your input before we know exactly where we want
and need to go.
First, “why develop a dedicated education program on Persona­
lized Medicine?” This is without doubt what your university or
any other education provider or stakeholder is going to ask
you: “We already provide all required training”, they will add.
However, it is crucial to underscore the complexity of a cell’s
behavior and take into account the overwhelming different
functions of our body. Personalized Medicine must take into
account at the same time our diseased cells/organs and all
the surrounding cells/organs of our body (other co existing
diseases, our susceptibility to uptake or modify drugs etc.). It
is a moving science requiring regular information. Fortunately,
Personalized Medicine is similar across diseases and medical
specialties and a common training is foreseeable.
We thus propose a flagship for 2015. The working group has
highlighted four pillars of education in Personalized Medicine. The
first one, which is important, is compatibility. We have to identify
the needs for current and future Personalized Medicine skills.
We have to see how population needs to be educated, of course
all healthcare professionals, but maybe also the population as
a whole requires the topic to be regularly explained to. When
do we educate? Maybe already at school; early in the career,
which leads to the second pillar: keeping pace. Personalized
Medicine is a moving science, continuous medical education
and continuous professional development is thus required. This
can be done in various ways, but the group stresses that, in our
current days, the establishment of a platform with real-time
access to an information repository is necessary. The third pillar
is inter-disciplinarity. We have to collect input from all medical
and non-medical specialties through a string of interdisciplinary
networks. And I think this is why you are here. We need your
input. The last pillar is coordination.
Finally, though the EAPM network will set up the educational
program on Personalized Medicine, we cannot develop infra­
structures, establish curricula, and manage the program
without national governments and, of course, without the
support of the European institutions.”
The speech was well received. The other session participants
agreed that PM needs more prominence in the education of
healthcare professionals. Together with EAPM, EHA and other
stakeholders will now start the development of a program for
PM.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 17
Hematopolitics
Key concerns of patients and clinicians
tackled in the EHA Advocacy Track 2014
A stiffer regulatory environment for clinical research, heavy cost pressure on healthcare systems, as well as the advent of the
internet are changing the dynamics between healthcare providers, patients, policy makers and their healthcare system.
Complementing the scientific program of its 19th Congress, EHA has put patients at the center by again offering a full-day Advocacy
Track. It tackled sensitive issues like generics in hematology, young patients with old people’s diseases, access to medicines, and
fair pricing. The sessions were very popular, not only for hematologists, but also nurses, researchers and patient advocates
attended the various sessions.
Generics in Hematology: The doctors’ and patients’
perspective
> The first of the two EHA Patient Advocacy Sessions
organized by the patient community addressed the issue of
“Generics in Hematology: The doctors’ and patients’ perspective”. Generics are of increasing relevance in hematology in
a growing number of countries and indications where EMAapproved generics or imported, locally approved drugs are
being introduced.
Prof Atholl Johnston, clinical pharmacologist at the Barts and
The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK, addressed
the issue of drug quality in generics, substandard drugs and
copy drugs, illustrated with historic examples where challenges were observed. He concluded with recommendations
for physicians when switching from branded to generic medications, taking into account economics, compliance issues, close
monitoring and communication issues.
Dr Mehregan Hadipour from Iran eluded on the differences
between myths and facts about generic drugs, and the specific
concerns of patients in less developed countries on drug quality
and regulatory standards. He reminded NGOs and patients’
organizations of their duty to lobby their governments to ensure
constant quality of treatments and collection post-marketing
data on efficacy, potency and side effects.
Šarûnas Narbutas, President of the Lithuanian Cancer Patient
Coalition (POLA), provided the patients’ perspective. Over the
past year, the patient community has collected unique data on
generic forms of current targeted drugs, with more generic
forms of targeted cancer drugs becoming available in the EU.
He illustrated this with the example of generic imatinib being
available across some Eastern EU countries already today,
demonstrating a wide spread of pricing between countries.
The patient community is concerned about the lack of data on
comparable quality of life, efficacy and change in clinical practice. Šarūnas Narbutas underlined this with the CML Advocates Network’s public “Call for Quality and Consistency when
Considering Generics” and their “CML Generics Resource
Center”, both aiming to increase transparency of information
and reducing the potential risks to patients.
What generics mean to clinical practice was illustrated by Dr
Ivana Urosevic, hematologist of the School of Medicine, Univer18 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
sity of Novi Sad, Serbia. After explaining the clinical case reports
so far published on generic imatinib, she explained the practical
experience with CML patients switched from branded to generic
forms of the drug at her hematology center after generics introduction in Serbia in July 2012. Due to the remaining uncertainties, she suggested careful follow-up of patients after switching
drugs and a continuous collection of clinical data.
The challenges of young patients with old people’s
disease
Many hematological diseases mostly occur in the third trimester
of life. However there are many young patients that need to live
with these diseases. The second EHA Patient Advocacy Session
focused on the specific challenges of young patients with old
people’s diseases, given expectations on life-span, quality of
life, making a living and family planning may be very different
for young patients.
Michael Michael from the Thalassaemia International Federation, Greece, gave an introduction into the topic by providing
the perspective of young patients with chronic rare anaemias.
He explained the frustrations and the problems while in the
long process of getting diagnosed as a young patients with an
old people’s disease. After the diagnose he could understood
his fragileness and limitations. The continuing developments in
treatment of his condition made him realize that he is lucky and
has grown older than expected and even has been able to create
a family. Mairéad Ní Chonghaile from the St. James’s Hospital
Dublin, Ireland, then addressed the issue of sexuality, selfesteem, fertility and family planning in hematological diseases,
and how to tackle these issues in terms of counseling patients,
providing up to date information, and supporting healthcare
professionals to address the needs of young patients.
EHA-ASH Joint Symposium: Access to medicines
and fair pricing: The cost of innovative drugs
The lack of transparency in drug pricing has raised many eyebrows in the past and in the face of all-round major healthcare
budget cuts the issue is becoming more and more pertinent.
The EHA-ASH Joint Symposium focused on the highly controversial issue of pricing of innovative medicines. Richard Bergström, Director General of the European Federation of Phar-
maceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and Jean-Luc
Harousseau, President of the Haute Autorité de Santé, France,
exchanged their views on the cost of innovative drugs, the costs
of research and development, the value of innovation, and the
challenges faced by healthcare systems to balance patients’
access and budgets. From the debate that followed is was
clear that the controversy surrounding the pricing of drugs will
remain a point of attention and concern, mainly due to the fact
that the current policy on pricing drugs will be unaffordable in
the future, as one of the participants in the debate concluded.
What do you mean, he can’t have the treatment? An
interactive session for hematologists and patients
Inequalities exist across the EU and between patient characteristics, so certain therapies might be available depending
on region, age of the patient or healthcare coverage. Patients
from older age-groups may be both less well informed and
more reluctant to challenge treatment decisions taken by clinicians, while the clinicians themselves may operate a conscious
or unconscious policy to restrict the treatment options offered
to the elderly. This may be a consequence of awareness that
resources are not unlimited and some element of rationing may
be applied.
The greatly increased availability of information about new and
effective treatment on the internet increasingly means that
even if older patients themselves are not well informed, other
family members may be well placed to act as their advocates.
In this role play session, a live debate on the non-availability
of certain, potentially more effective treatments embarked
between the clinician and the daughter of a patient. The issues
of eligibility that affect older patients may be further affected by
attitudes of both clinicians and patients.
The Future of Hematological Research in Europe
In the last session of EHA’s Advocacy Track, EHA addressed the
important issue of the future of hematologic research in Europe.
EHA is currently initiating the creation of a Research Roadmap
for Blood Disorders in Europe. The “Roadmap for Research in
Hematology in Europe” was presented by Prof Andreas Engert,
University Clinic of Cologne, Germany, and chair of the EHA
Research Roadmap Workgroup, followed by a “Perspective
from Personalized Medicine” presented by Prof Mark Lawler of
the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM). A
“Perspective from Horizon 2020” was given by Prof Hele Everaus, University of Tartu, and Member of the Horizon 2020 Advisory Group for health, demographic change and wellbeing for
DG Research, Estonia. This was complemented by the patients’
perspective, provided by Karen Van Rassel from the Lymphoma
Coalition. A more elaborate article on the Roadmap for
Research in Hematology in Europe project is available below on
this page.
Author: Jan Geissler
A Roadmap for Research
of Blood Disorders in Europe
> Research and innovation are of major benefit to society.
Not only for the intrinsic value of gaining knowledge, or – in
the case of medical research – the improvement to health and
quality of life it will bring us, but hard economics also suggest
that research and innovation are major drivers of economic
growth and quality employment. An investment in research is
an investment in people; patients, the labor market, and the
population at large all benefit.
The EU acknowledged this and, despite budget cuts being the
norm, made the strategic decision to increase the budget for
research in the coming years (Horizon 2020). It is now up to the
research community to spend this money wisely. EHA stepped
up to the challenge and decided to assist policymakers by
making them aware, providing evidence and expert opinion.
At the EHA Advocacy Session of the EHA Annual Congress in
Milan in June, Andreas Engert, EHA Board member, presented
the project ‘Research Roadmap for Blood Disorders in Europe.’
The output of the project will be a consensus document
covering both basic and clinical research in European
hematology which will describe the state of the art in European
hematology research and future research needs.
ROADMAP
To arrive at this document, a task force, under the leadership of
Professor Engert, is reaching out to involve opinion leaders and
experts in European hematology to support and contribute. In
addition, national societies of hematology, patient groups, political alliances, have and will be consulted throughout the project.
Before the manuscript is finalized a consultation of key
stakeholder organizations will be held. Once finalized, the
manuscript will be submitted to a reputable scientific journal
where it will be peer reviewed. In addition, a broad promotion
and information campaign will accompany the publication of
the article to engage as many policy makers, politicians and
research funders as possible.
The Research Roadmap will seek to identify possible gaps and
to avoid duplicating efforts. Moreover, the Research Roadmap
will serve to expose politicians, policy makers, and funding
agencies to reliable (from the research community itself),
reputable (from experts in their fields), comprehensive
(encompassing all fields of hematology), and widely supported
(within the hematology community) information and evidence
upon which to base their (funding) decisions.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 19
eha news
eha news
Eha members: use your democratic rights
to nominate candidates for the ballot and
vote for new board members in 2015!
The EHA Board consists of an executive board and 10 councilors, who serve a term of 4 years. ­
For the 2015 – 2019 period vacancies on the Board are open and we need your involvement in nominating candidates.
Nominating candidates: an easy procedure
> Nominating a candidate is now easy and simple: just
submit the online form including your supporting remarks
explaining the suitability of the candidate of your choice.
EHA is looking for committed members, actively working in the
field of hematology with leadership skills and affinity with the
work of the EHA Board and/or committees. We strive to balance
representation in gender and countries in Europe.
Sign up as a candidate!
This simplified procedure also enables you to sign up as a
candidate for the ballot yourself. Are you interested in serving
in the EHA Board? Do not hesitate and sign up!
The Nomination Committee will consider ALL submitted
candidates. Eligible members will receive an email invitation to
nominate in early November 2014.
The Nomination Committee will discuss all nominations and
will select three candidates per vacant position. In mid-April
2015, eligible members will receive an invitation to vote for one
candidate per open position. A bio-sketch and a personal vision
and outline of ambitions of each candidate will be available on
the website.
Use your democratic rights to nominate candidates for the
ballot and vote for your preferred candidate for the EHA Board.
Your vote counts!
The Voice of Young Hematology
> EHA proudly presents the official voice of young
hematologists, The Early Career Advisory Group (ECAG), an
officially appointed EHA group that will represent the voice of
young hematologist and junior members. ECAG will advise all
departments of EHA on topics of specific interest to trainees
and give feedback on programs of particular relevance for
trainees to various committees in EHA.
The aim of the ECAG is to strengthen EHA initiatives, reaching
out particularly to young people in hematology. The group
In Milan the Early Career Advisory Group had its inaugural
meeting at the 19th Congress of EHA.
Board news
EHA thanks Jan Cools as he
completes his term of office and welcomes
a new board member, Shai Izraeli
Every year, the EHA Business Meeting takes place in June. ­
At this meeting, the annual report on activities and finances is
presented to the members. This is also the meeting where
departing councilors are thanked and
elected Board members are welcomed.
> The EHA Board thanks Jan Cools as
he completed his term as a board member
and welcomes Shai Izraeli.
The composition of the EHA Executive
Board has also changed:
President
President Elect Past President
Treasurer
Secretary Christine Chomienne
Tony Green
Ulrich Jäger
Pieter Sonneveld
Jorge Sierra
Under the auspices of the Nomination Committee, active
members have nominated and elected one new board member,
will advocate for issues relevant to European early-career
clinicians and scientists in hematology (e.g. fellowships,
training, and education programs) and identify trainees’
needs throughout Europe from their perspective, initiating
activities to support and attract them to hematology and EHA. This will also provide a European platform to connect national
early-career associations in hematology/oncology and
support exchanges between these groups, whilst supporting
international, national and local initiatives.
ECAG will also focus on strengthening and establishing a
networking and communication platform for EHA career
development award winners, junior members, and young
hematologists by using and contributing to existing EHA
communication tools such as the Newsletter, Facebook,
Twitter and the website.
The inaugural group, which has worked on this proposal for
the past year, have all taken part in EHA Fellowship or TRTH
programs and will serve 2 year terms.
ECAG recently had a successful and fruitful inaugural meeting
at the 19th Congress of EHA in Milan. The group was introduced
to committee members and chairs. There was much
enthusiasm from both sides and some good ideas are already
circulating.
Shai Izraeli, who was welcomed to the Board at the Annual
Business Meeting.
Shai Izraeli, Israel
Shai Izraeli is the head of the Childhood Leukemia
Research Institute at Sheba Medical Center and
Professor of Pediatrics in the Departments of
Pediatrics and Human Molecular Genetics and
Biochemistry at Tel-Aviv University, Israel. He
received his medical degree from HadassahHebrew University Medical School and then
trained in pediatrics before moving to the
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, USA, to complete his specialist training in
Pediatric Hematology–Oncology and carry out his postdoctoral
research studies. He is the co-chair of the Israeli National
Study Group of childhood ALL and was the head of the Biology
and Diagnosis Committee of the international The BFM study
group was founded 1975 in Germany, when Hansjörg Riehm in
Berlin (B), Bernhard Kornhuber in Frankfurt (F) and Günther
Schellong in Münster (M) initiated the first multicenter BFM
trial.Since more than two decades, an ever growing number of
cooperative study groups worldwide work together under the
roof of the I-BFM Study Group to further improve treatment for
leukemia and lymphoma in joint actions. of childhood leukemias
from 2005 to 2011. He is an active member of the Scientific
Program Committee of the EHA Annual Congress, as well as the
EHA Grants and Fellowship Committee and the EHA Scientific
Working Groups Unit.
He has chosen to specialize in hematology because it is the
clinical specialty with the shortest distance between the bedside
and the bench and offers the best opportunities for high-level
true translational research. His research focuses on childhood
leukemia and he has published over 110 peer-reviewed research
publications. His group has made an important contribution
to the elucidation of the pathogenesis of Down syndromeassociated leukemias, and, in particular, discovered the role
of mutational activation of the IL7 and CRLF2 receptors and
JAK-STAT pathway in high-risk ALL. They were also the first to
discover and model the involvement of ERG and microRNA 125b
in acute leukemias and the critical role of the T-ALL associated
gene, SIL (STIL), in centrosomal biogenesis and embryonic
development. This research was carried out by more than twenty
doctoral and postdoctoral students during the last decade.
As the head of the largest MD-PhD program in Israel, he has a
particular interest in fostering the careers of young clinician
scientists. In his new role as Board Member he would like to
further promote the careers of physician scientists and, similar
to his previous achievements at the iBFM, to encourage research
collaborations between countries and between clinical
hematologists and scientists from a variety of disciplines.
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 21
eha news
What is Good Governance
and why does EHA need it?
The practice of good governance is something that is close to EHA’s core values, which include
transparency, integrity and independence. Through the creation of a Good Governance Committee
(GGC), which took place some years ago, EHA has institutionalized good governance in its
organizational structure and been implementing its recommendations ever since.
> What is good governance in the first place, and why does
EHA need it? To answer this question, we need to consider that
EHA is a not-for-profit and independent NGO that has a mission
to promote excellence in patient care, research and education in hematology. In the pursuit of this mission, EHA must
represent the interest of its members and constituency. Good
governance ensures that only the interests of hematologists
and hematology are represented. It is, therefore, the job of the
GGC to negate or minimize the risk of (potential or perceived)
conflict between these interests and any other interests.
Until now, the work of the GGC was mainly focused on developing policies that ‘manages’ the relationship between EHA
and the pharmaceutical industry. For example, EHA Board
members and invited speakers of EHA’s congress program are
not allowed to speak in a satellite symposium. In addition, it
has become common practice within EHA that all its Board and
Committee members declare their affiliations and update them
every year. It goes without saying that all speakers and chairs of
any EHA meeting must declare their affiliations. Nevertheless,
more is needed.
22 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
Recently, the GGC came together to discuss further steps. As to
the role of the committee, the GGC believes it can contribute to
the reputation and proper functioning of the organization, by
being included in the statutes of EHA as an advisory committee.
Another item that was discussed extensively concerned transparency. Transparency is becoming quite important. For one,
EHA itself is already quite transparent in that it published its
annual reports; however, the GGC believes that more can be
done. In addition, in the name of transparency, industry is
developing policies to self-regulate the disclosure of its financial relations with healthcare professionals and healthcare
organizations; the GGC will become involved in the debate about
these developments. Lastly, the GGC will make an effort to
communicate and disseminate its own deliberations and advice.
You can anticipate informative articles and opinions in different
types of publications, for instance in the EHA Newsletter.
Members of eha Committees and Units
Executive Board
C Chomienne, France (President)
T Green, United Kingdom (President Elect)
U Jäger, Austria (Past President)
J Sierra, Spain (Secretary)
P Sonneveld, the Netherlands (Treasurer)
Councilors
A Brand, the Netherlands
D Bron, Belgium
A Engert, Germany
S Fröhling, Germany
D Grimwade, United Kingdom
S Izraeli, Israel
L Malcovati, Italy
M Muckenthaler, Germany
G Ossenkoppele, the Netherlands
F Rodeghiero, Italy
CME Unit
A Tichelli, Switzerland (Chair)
M Guenova, Bulgaria
D Loukopoulos, Greece
J Musial, Poland
P Rebulla, Italy
I Roberts, United Kingdom
M Vilarmau, Spain
Communication Committee
A Hagenbeek, the Netherlands (Chair)
C Chomienne, France
J Cools, Belgium
T Green, United Kingdom
M Guenova, Bulgaria
C Lacombe, France
S McCann, Ireland
I Roberts, United Kingdom
Fundraising & Sponsor Committee
U Jäger, Austria (Chair)
A Engert, Germany
R Foà, Italy
S Fröhling, Germany
P Sonneveld, the Netherlands
F Rodeghiero, Italy
Curriculum Committee
C-H Toh, United Kingdom (Chair)
A Almeida, Portugal
P Fenaux, France
M Guenova, Bulgaria
E Hellström-Lindberg, Sweden (ex-officio)
M Liljeholm, Sweden
S Modok, Hungary
G Ossenkoppele, the Netherlands
Education Committee
R Foà, Italy (Chair)
A Borkhardt, Germany
D Bron, Belgium
C Chomienne, France
C Dufour, Italy
S McCann, Ireland (Chair)
B Bain, United Kingdom
J Burthem, United Kingdom
M Holmström, Sweden
M de Montalembert, France
O Ozer, Turkey
H Serve, Germany
G Zini, Italy (Advisor)
A Brand, the Netherlands
R Delwel, the Netherlands
H Dombret, France
S Eichinger, Austria
J Eikenboom, the Netherlands
A Engert, Germany
A Hochhaus, Germany
S Karlsson, Sweden
L Macintyre, France
M Mateos, Spain
E Solary, France
P Sonneveld, the Netherlands
K Stamatopoulos, Greece
S Stilgenbauer, Germany
A Sureda, Spain
European Affairs Committee
Local Representative 20th Congress
U Jäger, Austria (Chair)
D Bron, Belgium
C Chomienne, France
T Green, United Kingdom
A Hagenbeek, the Netherlands
I Pabinger, Austria
U Jäger, Austria
S McCann, Ireland
I Peake, United Kingdom
A Tichelli, Switzerland
C-H Toh, United Kingdom
EHATOL Unit
Fellowships and Grants Committee
T Green, United Kingdom (Chair)
R Delwel, the Netherlands
J Eikenboom, the Netherlands
S Fröhling, Germany
G Gaidano, Italy
D Grimwade, United Kingdom
S Izraeli, Israel
E Macintyre, France
M Muckenthaler, Germany
V Sexl, Austria
Good Governance Committee
W Fibbe, the Netherlands (Chair)
T Barbui, Italy
A Borkhardt, Germany
L Degos, France
L Malcovati, Italy
Membership Committee
A Borkhardt, Germany (Chair)
H Cavé, France
J Čermák, Czech Republic
J Cools, Belgium
S Fröhling, Germany
F Prosper Cardoso, Spain
Nomination Committee
I Touw, the Netherlands (Chair)
N Borregaard, Denmark
E Hellström-Lindberg, Sweden
C Mecucci, Italy
G Salles, France
Scientific Program Committee
20th Congress
D Grimwade, United Kingdom (Chair)
E Angelucci, Italy
M Beksac, Turkey
Scientific Program Committee Advisory Board 20th Congress
L Adès, France
A Balduzzi, Italy
M de Bruijn, United Kingdom
A Fielding, United Kingdom
S Fröhling, Germany
K Grønbæk, Denmark
J Janssen, the Netherlands
N Kröger, Germany
H Ludwig, Austria
C Moreno, Spain
E Papaemmanuil, Greece
JA Perez-Simon, Spain
J Porter, United Kingdom
G Porto, Portugal
A Reiter, Germany
N Russell, United Kingdom
S Soverini, Italy
S Stanworth, United Kingdom
C-H Toh, United Kingdom
M van den Heuvel, the Netherlands
H Veelken, the Netherlands
SWG Unit
P Sonneveld, the Netherlands (Chair)
MC Béné, France
M Dreyling, Germany
C Dufour, Italy
R Foà, Italy
D Grimwade, United Kingdom
L Malcovati, Italy
G Ossenkoppele, the Netherlands
S-L Thein, United Kingdom
TRTH Joint Oversight Committee
D Bodine, USA
J Cools, Belgium
C Dunbar, USA
D Grimwade, United Kingdom
U Jäger, Austria
J Soulier, France
E Srour, USA
eha news
EHA Scientific and Educational Events
> In addition to the Annual Congress, EHA offers a wide range of educational
activities, such as Hematology Tutorials, Scientific Workshops and EHA-SWG Scientific Meetings and a number of distance learning tools (webcasts, podcasts, clinical cases online). In 2009, EHA launched its Outreach Program, to deliver education
in hematology to the areas with limited access to up-to-date developments.
Please find below the confirmed events, for further information and an up to date
overview please visit www.ehaweb.org/education
EHA - Pan-Arab Hematology
Association Joint Symposium
February 5-7, 2015
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
36th Hematology Tutorial
Stem Cell Transplantation
March 27-29, 2015
Yerevan, Armenia
35th Hematology Tutorial Hematological
Malignancies and Sickle Cell Disease
February 13-15, 2015
Dublin, Ireland
EHA - Hematology Society of Taiwan
Joint Symposium
April 18-20, 2015
Taiwan
EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting
Focus on Red Cell and Iron Disorders,
and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)
March 6-8, 2015
Lisbon, Portugal
TSH-EHA Tutorial
Bone Marrow Failure (Congenital and
Acquired Aplastic Anemia)
April 25-26, 2015
Erzurum, Turkey
EHA-ASH Translational Research
Training in Hematology – Spring Course March 14-20, 2015
Milan, Italy
EHA - Emirates Haematology Congress
Joint Symposium
March 19-21, 2015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting Aging and hematology: the next
questions…
May 8-9, 2015 (TBC)
Lisbon, Portugal
20th Congress of EHA
June 11-14, 2015
Vienna, Austria
Colophon
EHA Newsletter is published twice a year by the European Hematology
Association. Membership of the European Hematology Association includes
subscription to the Newsletter.
Editors
Editors
Editorial Coordination
Tony Green, Irene Roberts
Ineke van der Beek, Jon Tarifa
Photography, illustrations and design
PicturesStefan Zeitz, iStockphoto.com, Shutterstock,
Robin Foà, Marius Schwartz, Simon Pugh
Graphic design
Niels Eijsbroek
EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting
Management of cytopenias: diagnostic
approaches of hematological
malignancies
September 10-12, 2015
Barcelona, Spain
EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting Hemostasis imbalance: critical issues
and therapeutic approaches
September 18-20, 2015
Barcelona, Spain
37th Hematology Tutorial on MDS
November 13-14, 2015
Prague, Czech Republic
Blast from the past
12th Congress of EHA
June 7-10, 2007
Vienna, Austria
Delegates: 6560
Abstracts: 1892
The 12th Congress was the first in Austria
and the second congress that reached over
6500 delegates. It was the first congress
that was webcasted via the EHA website.
Many people will remember the extreme
temperatures in Vienna at the time.
E U R O P E A N H E M AT O L O G Y A S S O C I AT I O N
12th CONGRESS
of the
European Hematology Association
January 1, 2007: Start abstract submission and
congress registration
March 1, 2007: Deadline abstract submission
May 10, 2007: Deadline early registration fee
Contact editors
For general remarks, questions and suggestions e-mail [email protected]
Neue Messe Vienna, Austria, June 7 – 10, 2007
24 > EHA Newsletter November 2014
www.ehaweb.org
FUTURE CONGRESSES
Copenhagen
Vienna
22nd Congress
23rd Congress
Venue to be decided
June 22 - 25 2017
Venue to be decided
June 14 - 17 2018
ehaweb.org
EHA Newsletter November 2014 > 25
the official newsletter for members of the EHA
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