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December 8, 2008
At the American Society of Hematology meeting, Colleen Delaney, MD, MSc (Damon Runyon-Novartis Clinical Investigator '07-'10) of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, reported the success of a new approach of expanding blood cells from donated umbilical cords. She cultured cord blood with a Notch pathway ligand and cytokines to increase the number of CD34+ stem cells prior to transplantation; this decreased the time required for the transplanted cells to engraft and begin production of healthy blood cells in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Her results could help increase the success rates of cord blood stem cell transplants by shortening the time during which patients have low white-cell counts that leave them susceptible to life-threatening infections.
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The story of one of Dr. Delaney's patients who is benefitting from this new approach was recently featured in an article in The Australian: "Stem cells give leukemia patient a second chance."
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Joan Massagué, PhD (Fellowship Award Committee '92-'96, Former Sponsor) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, was selected to receive the AACR Distinguished Leadership Award in Breast Cancer Research. His research identified the critical role of transforming growth hormone factor-Beta (TGF-Beta) in the metastasis of breast cancer cells to the lung.