Roswell Park Investigators Share Advances in Stem Cell Transplantation, Cellular Therapy at Tandem Meetings

ORLANDO, FL. — Investigators from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center are among the experts whose work will be highlighted February 15-19 at the 2023 Tandem Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) in Orlando, Florida. The combined annual meetings promote the exchange of information about the latest discoveries in hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapy for blood-related cancers, with the aim of extending patient survival and improving quality of life.

Two Roswell Park physicians will deliver podium talks:

Nataliya Buxbaum, MD, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Roswell Park, and member of the Chronic GvHD National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Project Biology Task Force, will discuss progress toward developing metabolically based diagnostics and personalized treatments to combat chronic graft-versus-host disease in stem cell transplant patients. “We have to have a better understanding of biology and better markers of the disease we can use to guide our therapy selection,” she says.

Presentation Details: “Biology of GvHD,” Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 11:00-11:30 a.m., EST, World Center Marriott, Cypress 3.

Marco Davila, MD, PhD, Vice Chair for Cellular Therapies and Senior Vice President and Associate Director for Translational Research, will describe how his lab identified the pathways by which macrophages kill and suppress CD19-targeted CAR T cells, resulting in poor outcomes among patients with B-cell malignancies who receive CAR T-cell therapy. Dr. Davila says the team has now set their sights on “re-training the CAR T cells to be more resistant to metabolic dysfunction induced by macrophages.”

Presentation Details: “Mechanisms of Resistance to CD19-Targeted CAR T Cells: Lessons from Mice and Patients,” Friday, Feb. 17, from 3:00-3:30 p.m. EST, World Center Marriott, Cypress 3.

Four poster sessions to be presented Feb. 16

Roswell Park experts also will present poster sessions during the Tandem Meetings in the World Center Marriott:

• (300) Megan Herr, PhD, Department of Medicine, Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, will discuss “Outcomes of HLA-Matched Related Donor (MRD) and Haploidentical Donor (Haplo) Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients by Immune Profiles of Recipients and Donors.” The poster presentation focuses on the identification of immune cell subsets that were measured before transplant in the transplant patient or the related donor that were associated with transplant outcomes for patients receiving a matched-related donor or haploidentical transplant. Thursday, Feb. 16, from 5:45-6:45 p.m.
• (307) Christine M. Ho, MD, Department of Medicine, Transplant and Cellular Therapy Center, will discuss “Recipient Immune Parameters Are Associated with Outcomes after Unrelated Donor (URD) Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (alloHCT).” The poster illustrates that recipient immune-cell ratios and single-cell frequencies pre-allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant are associated with post-transplant outcomes and can potentially be used as prognostic biomarkers. Thursday, Feb. 16, from 5:45-6:45 p.m.
• (471) Muhammad Salman Faisal, MD, MBBS, Hematology/Oncology Fellow, will discuss “The First Year of Hematology Oncology Fellows — a Social Media Community for Hematology/Oncology Trainees,” Thursday, Feb. 16, from 5:45-6:45 p.m.
• (456)  Theresa Hahn, PhD, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, is senior author of “Trends in Utilization of Autologous and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Racial/Ethnic Minorities.” The poster highlights a U.S. population-based study that identified disparities in the use of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), concluding that despite significant increases in the use of allogeneic HCT for African Americans and Hispanics and autologous HCT for Hispanics treated for multiple myeloma, utilization rates of allogeneic and autologous HCT remain significantly lower in those populations than those in non-Hispanic whites.  Thursday, Feb. 16, from 5:45-6:45 p.m.

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Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a community united by the drive to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity by unlocking its secrets through personalized approaches and unleashing the healing power of hope. Founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, it is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. Learn more at www.roswellpark.org, or contact us at 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.