APHCON NEWS

Sister Institution Signing Ceremony

August 28, 2015. The landmark and historic moment of signing ceremony of Sister Institution Network between MD Anderson Cancer Center and Siriraj Hospital and Bangkok Hospital was commemorated by the Senior Vice President of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr Oliver Bogler; Prof. Udom Kachintorn, President of Mahidol University; Prof. Prasit Watanapa, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital; Dr. Chatree Duangnet, Executive Vice President and Group Chief Operating Officer – Medical affairs, BDMS; Prof. Surapol Issaragrisil, PCU Director of Hematology Center, Wattanosoth Hospital. This relationship exemplifies a lifelong collaboration for excellence in edcuation and improvement in patient care.

AUBHO2015 SUCCESS!!!

August 28-29, 2015. Another successful year of completion of AUBHO2015 Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. This regional conference afforded opportunity for collaboration and growth. Eminent speakers from Thailand, Europe, China and India discussed sbout novel advancements and future of oncology care. Dr Qian Jian from Pekin University brought the unique perspective of patient inout and feedback on the usage of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Dr Ashok Vaid from Medanta Hospital, New Delhi spoke about the advancements in the field of immuno-oncology for lung cancer. Dr Suradej discussed the breakthrough improvement in stem cell transplant for Thalassemia patients. Dr Didier Blaise discussed novel approach to elderly patient with hematologic malignancies. In addition, special immunotherapy symposium dedicated to the in-depth discussion of novel cell therapy and immne manipulation were discussed with a group of young physicians. We look forward to next year: AUBHO2016: August 26-27, 2016.
July 2015: APHCON published first collaborative study using data obtained from BTG2015, Beijing China. There will be 6 additional papers that will be published.
July 2015: Winners of MDRing challenge at Chinese Association of Hematology Conference, Shenyang, China
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JAN 9, 2015: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was presented the People’s Republic of China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award at a ceremony held Jan. 9 at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

The event, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, recognized MD Anderson’s many international ties to sister institutions in China with which it shares collaborative programs in training, education and patient care. The award is granted through the Chinese State Council to foreign scientists, science and technology engineers and managers, or organizations that have “made important contributions to China’s bilateral or multilateral scientific and technological cooperation.”

Oliver Bogler, Ph.D., senior vice president for academic affairs accepted the award on behalf of MD Anderson. Ta-Jen Liu, Ph.D., project director of global academic programs, also attended the ceremony.

“Cancer is a significant challenge worldwide,” said Bogler. “Every country has a unique spectrum of cancers, influenced by factors such as population and environment, and collaborating to study these cancers is critical to making progress. China in particular offers tremendous opportunities for saving lives through joint cancer research with top scientists and the government’s commitment to fighting cancer.”

Bogler added that collaborations with Chinese partners have been productive in areas such as cancer screening, liver and lung cancer treatment, and cooperation in clinical trials and basic research studies.

“It is increasingly important to share information and create ties that help all nations in our collective fight against cancer,” said Ron DePinho, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “Receiving this coveted award from China is an honor for our institution and one that speaks to our commitment to collaboration, here at home and across the globe.”

MD Anderson was nominated for the award by its sister institution, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou. Other MD Anderson  sister institutions include the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Institute and Hospital, Beijing; Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital;  Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center;  and the Sir YK Pao Centre for Cancer, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

SIRIRAJ and BANGKOK HOSPITAL join 
MD Anderson Cancer Center Sister Institution Network

BTG2014 Lecture Presentation Available Online

Video recordings of the lecture presentations are now available online. Please click on the disease topics below:
Acute Leukemia
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Multiple Myeloma
Hematology

APHCON PATIENT ACCESS PROGRAM

In collaboration with the Wattanosoth Cancer Center and Siriraj Hospital, APHCON launches patient access program, where patients are able to ask questions regarding their disease and treatment directly to the international faculty. Right after BTG2014, Dr Borje Andersson, Dr Robert Orlowski, Dr Morton Coleman and Dr Simrit Parmar went to Bangkok Thailand and held a 2-day workshop where the first day was dedicated to patient access program at the Wattanosoth cancer center, Almost 100 patients attended this interactive meeting.
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Best Abstract Winner
Dr Cheng-Hong Tsai from National University Taiwan.
Title of Abstract: Higher expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling1 (SOCS1) in the bone marrow is an unfavorable prognostic factor in adult patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia

Dr Tsai will be awarded 1000 USD cash prize and he will give oral presentation on Feb 15 at 9:35 AM during the 5th International Hematologic Malignancies Conference: BTG2014, to be held at teh Sheraton Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan.

KIAN ANG MEMORIAL LECTURE

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In his memory, we will hold the first Kian Ang Memorial Lecture to be delivered by Dr Richard Champlin. The topic of the lecture will be:
Hematpoietic Transplantation and Cellular Therapy in 2014:  Challenges and
Opportunities

Dr Kian Ang was the first president of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Global Academic Programs (GAP), who attended BTG2013 and  endorsed his support for APHCON. Due to his support, BTG meetings are now part of the MD Anderson Cancer Center’s collaborative events. Unfortunately, we lost
this precious and cherished visionary on June 19, 2013 to cancer. 
 
Dr Ang pioneered practice-changing treatment for head and neck cancers and established tradition of ringing a bell at the end of radiation treatment. This tradition dates to 1996, when one of Dr Ang's patients, a Navy admiral, told the doctor he wanted to employ the military branch's tradition of ringing a bell to symbolize that "the job was done.” The admiral brought to MD Anderson a brass bell, rang it several times and donated it to Ang and the staff. It soon became popular with Ang's patients, then throughout the cancer center. Today, on any given day, five to ten M.D. Anderson patients ring the bell, at the conclusion of their radiation treatment. In 2006, when MD Anderson built a mammoth proton therapy center, an Asian-influenced,
advanced form of radiation, they included a gong for patients to ring.

 Under his leadership, the GAP program facilitated and strengthened collaborations between the growing network of sister institutions. Examples of recently introduced programs include the Sister Institution Network Fund (SINF) and the Sister Institution Referral Assistance Center (SIRAC).  SINF has funded 42 projects with a collective investment of close to $8.5 million from MD Anderson Cancer Foundation and partnering sister institutions.  The first series of publications, some of them in high profile journals, are emerging.  Several investigators have competed successfully for extramural funding based on preliminary results generated
  through this funding mechanism. 

Through APHCON, we pledge to continue his vision and launch the APHCON Steering Committee to facilitate the development of pilot joint clinical trials to complement laboratory research and to build partnerships between the participating centers. We will also continue to develop the consensus practice
guidelines for diseases geared towards the APAC region.  

APHCON Preceptorship Award

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Dr Hong Bing Ma from Sichuan University, Tianjin, China is the first recipient of APHCON Preceptorship Program arrived in Houston ond Dec 3 and rotated through different departments at MD Anderson Cancer Center including stem cell transplant, myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia

Dr Ma will give a brief presentation of his work at BTG2014.

APHCON Steering Committee: Feb 13, 2014

At the Sheraton Hotel, Taipei, the first APHCON steering committee will meet to discuss the following

1. Multicenter trial for frontline therapy of multiple meyloma
2. Multicenter trial for allogeneic stem cell transplant for Aplastic Anemia
3. Initiation of consolidated tumor registry
4. APHCON Innovation Grants

APHCON at ASH 2013

APHCON Meeting at ASH: DEC 7, 2013

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Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Two Poydras Street,
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
TEL: 1-504-561-0500
FAX: 1-504-568-1721
Day/Date                       Saturday, December 07, 2013
Event Times                  11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Event Name                  APHCON Meeting:  Focus on unmet needs
Room Name                  Compass – Riverside Bldg.

AGENDA
1.      BTG2014, Taiwan. Review of agenda, abstracts, President Reception, Preceptorship award and innovations grant
2.      APHCON CTN: Current trials under discussion:
-          Relapsed/ refractory MM: Investigator initiated Multicenter studies
-          Aplastic Anemia: Investigator initiated: novel conditioning regimen for newly diagnosed AA patient with sibling or haplo donors
3.      Steering committees. We will propose to form disease oriented steering committees for AA and MM for now. We will have a more formal and detailed meeting at BTG2014, Taiwan on Feb 13, with atleast 4 hour time block carved out for discussions.
4.      Investigator meetings at BTG2014. If our initial proposal is approved, we will have some funding for the study and will hold the investigator meeting at BTG2014, Taiwan where full proposal will be discussed.
5.      Discussion of setting up of BMT/ Disease database

BTG2014 Hotel Reservations Open!!!!

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The Official hotel for BTG2014
SHERATON TAIPEI HOTEL
No. 12, Section 1, Zhōngxiào East Rd,
Taipei City, Taiwan 100
Phone:+886 2 2321 1818

https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/btg2014
cancellation policy as per the hotel.

MULTIPLE MYELOMA Unmet Needs

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Jae Hoon Lee M.D.
Gachon University Gil Hospital, Incheon, South Korea
Dr Lee presented Current status of MM epidemiology, challenges of MM management and  the unmet needs in Asia Pacific
Click here to download slides

APHCON Officially Collaborates with Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON)

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November, 2013:  It is with great pleasure that we announce the formal collaboration between the most prestigious oncology research network of India: Indian Cooperative Oncology Netwok (ICON) and Asia Pacific Hematology Consortium (APHCON).
ICON has been striving to aim for better prevention and management of human cancers in India for over 30 years.
ICON believes in the following main objectives:
To foster and encourage cooperative clinical research in oncology at a national and international level.
To participate in all phases of clinical research in oncology while upholding respect for individual patients.
To generate data that is of high quality through clinical trials addressing India-specific issues, and which are ethical and complies with good clinical practices and which are acceptable to regulatory and statutory bodies /authorities.
To disseminate such knowledge at local, regional, national and international levels.

APHCON Collaborates with The Hematology Society of Taiwan

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Oct, 2013: In collaboration with The Hematology Society of Taiwan, APHCON presents the 5th International Hematologic Malignancies Conference: Bridging the Gap 2014 (BTG2014), scheduled for February 14-15, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan.  it is our pleasure to invite you to participate in this unique and premier event.
Click Here for more details

Multiple Myeloma Round Table Discussion: HAA2013

October 18, 2013
GoldCoast, Queensland
Focused on the Current status of MM epidemiology, challenges of MM management and the unmet needs in Asia Pacific, the MM round table discussion will answerthe following critical questions
1.     Unmet needs in treatment of multiple myeloma
2.    Challenges in treating with proteasome inhibitors
3.    How are novel drugs changing the landscape of multiple myeloma
4.    What kind of clinical trials are needed for multiple myeloma
5.    What will be standard of care for MM in 2 years’ time
6.    Relapsed refractory MM: doublet vs. triplet


AUBH2013, BANGKOK

Held on August 31 - Sept 1, 2013, AUBH2013 was a great success!!!! With exciting debate sessions and didactic lectures, the audience was riveted and energized by the speakers. The whole meeting was highly interactive and addressed many controversial topics.

MOU Signing Ceremony

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In a landmark ceremony, Kent Walters and Simrit Parmar, MD from the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas,  signed a memorandum of understanding with Siriraj Hospital and Wattanosoth Cancer Hospital, Bangkok,  Thailand, at the AUBH 2013 meeting held in Bangkok.  Dr Surapol Issaragrisil represented Siriraj Hospital and Dr Chatree Duangnet represented Wattanosoth Cancer Center. This historic MOU signing ceremony further solidifies the bond between these great institutions and opens up several options for collaborative clinical trials as well as educational exchange program between the three institutions. Dr Borje Andersson from MD Anderson Cancer Center has already completed a pioneer transplant study in colleboration with Dr Suradej Hongeng from Bangkok Hospital. The MOU formalizes the already existing friendships and collaborations.

Patient Case Discussion Symposium

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Dr Surapol Issaragrisil led the state of the art patient oriented case discussion symposium which included approximately 150 patients and their family members from Thailand. The visiting professors included Dr Borje Andersson, Dr David Ritchie, Dr Uday Popat, Dr Tapan Kadia and Dr Simrit Parmar. The questions and answer session included discussions around risk factors for cancer, improvement in diagnosis, transplant options for relapsed diseases etc. Mr. Kent Walters from MD Anderson Cancer Center gave an overview of the financial disparities and possible solutions for improved patient care. Dr Niwat Boonyuen from WattanOsoth Cancer Center and Bangkok Hospital made this generous activity possible.

KIAN ANG MEMORIAL LECTURE

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In memory of Dr Kian Ang, APHCON humbly presents the KIAN ANG MEMORIAL LECTURE to be given by Dr Borje Andersson at the AUBH2013 to be held on August 30-31, 2013. The lecture title will be 'Building Bridges Across Nations with Clinical Trials'.

Dr Ang was a champion of APHCON. He gave the keynote presentation at BTG2013 in Hong Kong as well as the satellite meeting in Bangkok. Dr Ang's words of encouragement and constant support propelled APHCON to strengthen its collaboration with the GAP program at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

ASIA PACIFIC ONCOLOGY SUMMIT

APHCON PRACTICE GUIDELINES: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
SHANGHAI, CHINA
JULY 5, 2013
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BTG2013 Abstracts now published in Leukemia Lymphoma Journal

It is with great pride that we publish our very first edition of selected abstracts from the BTG2013 meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 22-23, 2013. Congratulations to all the authors. The published work can now be cited for manuscripts and grant writing purpose. This is another successful milestone in realizing our academic goals of being the premier group of leading hematologists oncologists.
The full content will be available for free downloads for one month. http://informahealthcare.com/loi/lal

You may also browse through the abstracts on APHCON website.

APHCON Members can now access Peer-Reviewed Journals

All APHCON members can now access peer-reviewed journals. Please sign up for the membership here

APHCON Members can now submit their Manuscripts for revision

APHCON members will enjoy the benefit of 'early review' of their manuscripts by the APHCON mentors and will get guidance for submission in peer reviewed journals. The accepted manuscripts will have to address APHCON in their acknowledgement section. Click here to submit your manuscript.

APHCON PRECEPTORSHIP AWARD ANNOUNCED!!

DR. HONG-BING MA from SICHUAN UNIVERSITY, CHINA is the first recipient of the APHCON Preceptorship Award. He will begin his 6 week rotation at MDACC in August 2013.

BTG2013 successfully completes another year!! 

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In its 4th year, BTG 2013 completed another successful year. With over 450 delegates, the meeting was well attended and had a great turn over. There was representation from over 29 countries.