7:00 a.m.

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

8:15 a.m.

An Overview of the Blood/Marrow Transplant (BMT) Process, Robert H. Collins, Jr., MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

With recent developments in techniques, indications, and supportive therapy, BMT continues to be an advancing field in the treatment of disease, with increased frequency in its use for treating numerous malignant and nonmalignant diseases.

This session will describe the different types of BMTs and the sources of stem cells, as well as explain the pretransplant evaluation process, engraftment, and posttransplant complications. It will also provide an understanding of remission and chemo-sensitive disease; the significance of clinical trials; and the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach to achieve optimal outcomes in patients undergoing BMT.

Learning Objectives:

1. Distinguish between the different types of BMT.
2. Summarize the pretransplant evaluation process for patients and donors, including important aspects to consider when choosing a donor.
3. Explain the mechanisms of rejection, infection and other posttransplant complications.
4. State the significance of clinical trials in BMT.
5. Discuss the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach to maximize patient outcomes.

9:45 a.m.

Break — Exhibits Open

10:00 a.m.

The Management of Infections in BMT Recipients, Sanjeet S. Dadwal, MD, FACP, City of Hope National Medical Center

Certain factors place patients undergoing BMT at increased risk for infections. Despite recent advances in supportive care, growth factors, more-potent antimicrobials, prophylaxis strategies, and new diagnostic techniques, infection and graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) remain the major causes of mortality in patients who undergo BMT.  

This session will discuss the management of opportunistic infections and GVHD among BMT recipients.

Learning Objectives:

1. List the common opportunistic infections among BMT recipients and review the guidelines for preventing these infections.
2. Explain the prevention and management of GVHD and the role of T-cells in BMT.
3. Discuss posttransplant management of GVHD.

11:00 a.m.

Pharmaceuticals in BMT, Jill K. Leslie, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, Indiana Blood and Marrow Transplant

Patients undergoing BMT require a number of prescription medications pre- and posttransplant, including immunosuppressants to control GVHD; immune system “boosters” for red and white blood cells and platelets; and medication to prevent infections. This session will discuss medications used during BMT, as well as immunosuppression therapy and its role in BMT pre- and posttransplant. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the prescription medications that are used pre- and posttransplant.
2. Explain immunosuppression therapy and its role in BMT pre- and posttransplant.

12:00 p.m.

Luncheon Presentation — An Overview of Optum™ (nonaccredited/optional; lunch provided)

1:15 p.m.

Dessert Break — Exhibits Open

1:30 p.m.

National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP): A Resource for Unrelated Donors, Jeffrey W. Chell, MD, National Marrow Donor Program

Thousands of patients diagnosed with blood cancers and other life-threatening diseases depend on BMTs to save their lives. And there are millions of people on the Be the Match Registry® (operated by the NMDP) and other registries throughout the world, who stand ready to donate the cells needed for transplants for patients in need.

This session will provide a global overview of the role of the NMDP as it relates to allogeneic transplantation and the use of unrelated BMT donors.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the role of the NMDP in unrelated donor BMT.
2. Explain HLA typing and its role in transplant outcomes.

2:15 p.m.

Cancer Immunotherapy: Basic Principles, Mechanisms and Applications, Michael R. Bishop, MD, University of Chicago Medicine

Cancer immunotherapy — treatments that harness and enhance the innate powers of the immune system to fight cancer — has become critically important over the last few decades in bringing new and potentially lifesaving treatments to patients with certain types of cancers, and it will continue to impact how cancer is treated in the future. These treatments have the potential to achieve complete, long-lasting remissions and cancer cures, with few or no side effects. This session will review basic principles of immunology and the characteristics of an immune response, along with the treatment considerations of cancer immunotherapy.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the basic principles and mechanisms of immunotherapy, as well as the key components of immune response.
2. Explain the development and clinical applications of monoclonal antibodies, cancer vaccines, and cytokines and their respective roles in cancer immunotherapy.
3. Identify challenges associated with the use of immunotherapy among patients with hematologic malignancies.
4. Explain the role of immunotherapy as part of a treatment protocol for initial or refractory disease, including possible surgical intervention, radiation, or chemotherapy.

3:15 p.m.

Break — Exhibits Open

3:30 p.m.

BMT: Trends in Patients Aged 65 and Older with Cancer, Vivek Roy, MD, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville

Blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, are most common in people age 65 and older. The percentage of older BMT recipients is significantly greater than a decade ago, when patients over the age of 55 were excluded from BMT treatment due to concerns for chemotherapy toxicity. However, reduced-intensity chemotherapy, improved supportive care, and Medicare changes have made it possible for patients age 65 and older to obtain potentially lifesaving BMT therapy. This session will review common diagnoses treated by BMT in the older adult and the role of reduced-intensity donor stem cell transplantation, as well as Medicare coverage for these treatments.

Learning Objectives:

1. List common diagnoses occurring at later ages that can be treated with BMT.
2. State the role of reduced-intensity donor stem cell transplantation in the older adult.
3. Discuss Medicare coverage of BMT.

4:15 p.m.

Challenges in the Care of Children and Adolescent Young Adults (AYA) Undergoing Transplantation, Kenneth R. Cooke, MD, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

Life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, in the pediatric and AYA populations cross many diagnoses and continue to grow in frequency of their occurrence. Treatment options may include blood/marrow and organ transplantation, which can cause multiple psychosocial issues and require a unique management approach. This session will discuss the variables and complexities that can influence the level of psychosocial functioning in children and AYA who have cancer or have had a transplant, as well as the barriers and concerns health care professionals face in managing these patients.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the challenges children and their families face when dealing with life-threatening childhood illnesses.
2. Discuss the unique short- and long-term psychosocial issues facing AYA patients with cancer or conditions requiring transplantation and the barriers that lead to nonadherence to medical regimens.
3. Identify strategies that may be implemented to promote successful compliance and adherence in these patient populations.
4. State the importance of collaboration between the health care teams in the management of this population.

5:00–6:30 p.m.

Complimentary Get-Acquainted Reception — Exhibits Open
Join your colleagues for hors d’oeuvres and beverages. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to gather information and ideas from exhibitors regarding the management of complex medical conditions.

7:00 a.m.

Registration and Continental Breakfast — Exhibits Open

8:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

8:15 a.m.

Thoracic Transplantation 101: Evaluation, Hospitalization, Posttransplant Care and Complications, Michael Petty, PhD, RN, CCNS, ACNS-BC, University of Minnesota Health

Heart and lung transplantation have revolutionized therapy for end-stage thoracic disease in the last decade. There are important factors that need to be taken into consideration to optimize outcomes for this patient population. The appropriate timing for referral to a transplant program is based on the patient’s functional status and life expectancy. With thoracic transplantation, there is a significant risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality; therefore, each patient needs to be evaluated individually, with consideration for absolute and relative contraindications. This session will discuss the advantages of a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to managing thoracic transplant recipients. An overview of the criteria and evaluation process for thoracic transplantation, hospital course, and pre- and posttransplant management strategies will be presented along with how a team can work together to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

1. List the physical and psychosocial criteria in current guidelines for eligibility to receive a heart or lung transplant.
2. Describe the process of patient evaluation and selection as well as posttransplant complications and long-term management for recipients of a heart or lung transplant.
3. Discuss the importance to patient outcomes of a multidisciplinary team approach to care delivery.

9:00 a.m.

Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs): Optimal Management to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients, Michael Petty, PhD, RN, CCNS, ACNS-BC, University of Minnesota Health

An LVAD is a mechanical pump that is used to support heart function and blood flow in people who have weakened hearts. This treatment option is for certain patients with end-stage heart failure and can be used either as a bridge to transplant until a donor heart becomes available for transplant or as destination therapy as an alternative to heart transplant. This session will review (1) candidate selection; (2) management strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients supported with LVADs; (3) outpatient strategies to optimize device performance and heart failure management; and (4) important device complications that warrant close outpatient monitoring.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss candidate selection and outpatient strategies to optimize device performance and heart failure management.
2. Identify management strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients supported with LVADs.
3. Summarize important device complications that warrant close outpatient monitoring.

9:45 a.m.

Break — Exhibits Open

10:00 a.m.

Abdominal Transplantation 101: Treatable Diseases, Evaluation, Hospitalization and Posttransplant Care, George E. Loss, Jr., MD, PhD, FACS, Ochsner Medical Center

Organ transplantation has overcome major technical limitations to become the success it is today. The breakthroughs include developing techniques for vascular anastomoses and managing the immune response.The outcomes of organ transplantation continue to improve with advancements in the evaluation and selection process, as well as the peri- and postoperative management of these patients. This session will include an overview of abdominal organ transplantation, organ-specific outcomes, the use of deceased versus living donors, the role of immunosuppression therapy, and short- and long-term complications associated with these surgeries — such as infection, disease recurrence, and acute and chronic rejection.

Learning Objectives:

1. Summarize the pretransplant evaluation process, hospital course and posttransplant care for abdominal transplant patients.
2. Identify organ-specific criteria and the use of deceased- versus living-donor organs.
3. Discuss the role of immunosuppression therapy in abdominal transplantation.
4. List short- and long-term complications that can occur in abdominal organ transplantation, including infection, disease recurrence and rejection.

11:00 a.m.

An Overview of Pharmaceuticals Utilized in Organ Transplantation, Andrew Freeman, PharmD, BCPS, Ochsner Medical Center

The success of solid organ transplantation rests heavily on the major advances in immunosuppressive therapy. With the introduction of improved immunosuppressive agents to prevent graft rejection, as well as antimicrobials and antifungal agents to decrease the risk of opportunistic infection, successful organ transplantation has become the standard. The use of risk education and management strategies (REMS) are becoming increasingly common in organ transplantation, and studies suggest that health care providers must be aware of these strategies to improve patient education and reduce pharmaceutical risk. This session will discuss immunosuppressive agents used in organ transplantation and the major adverse effects for each agent.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss induction therapies and current drug protocols used for solid organ transplantation.
2. Explain the mechanism of action of immunosuppressive agents, along with the major adverse effects for each agent.
3. State the risks and benefits of immunosuppressive agents, as well as how to prevent opportunistic infections and/or treat patients with such infections.
4. Identify the role of health care providers in implementing REMS for organ transplantation.

11:45 a.m.

Luncheon Presentation — Organ Procurement: Strategies to Close the Gap Between the Supply and Demand for Organs, Stuart C. Sweet, MD, PhD, St. Louis Children's Hospital

Organ transplantation has been limited by the shortage of donor organs, resulting in a significant imbalance between organ availability and the need for organ transplantation services. Despite advances in medicine and technology, as well as increased awareness of organ donation and transplantation, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. The U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) helps ensure the success and efficiency of the U.S. organ transplantation system. This session will review the goals of the OPTN and discuss strategies to increase organ donation that will close the gap between suppy and demand.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the gap between available donor organs and patients needing transplant, including the impact of this gap on transplant candidates.
2. Describe the role UNOS (as the OPTN contractor) plays as a member of the broader community of stakeholders developing initiatives to bridge this gap.
3. Describe potential strategies to increase the number of patients transplanted, including 1) increasing the number of deceased organ donors; 2) reducing the number of discarded organs; 3) increasing donation from alternative sources; and 4) modifying allocation policies to reduce waiting list mortality.

1:00 p.m.

Dessert Break — Exhibits Open

1:15 p.m.

Immune Tolerance in Kidney and Liver Transplantation: What’s New? R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS (Ed), Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center

One of the biggest battles associated with organ transplantation is the management of side effects resulting from lifelong use of immunosuppression. The toxicity of chronic immunosuppressive agents has prompted investigators to pursue approaches to induce immune tolerance. The goal is to wean transplant recipients off immunosuppressive agents while keeping graft function stable, in the hope of making it possible for patients to live without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. This session will offer information about novel agents that produce immune tolerance, including chimerism and donor-specific tolerance in kidney and liver transplant recipients.

Learning Objectives:

1. State the most recent developments and clinical trials associated with producing immune tolerance in transplant patients.
2. Describe the indications, potential applications, risks and benefits of agents used to produce immune tolerance.
3. Discuss the differential degree of rejection risk among patients undergoing renal versus liver transplantation, and how that difference may impact the development of medications to prevent graft rejection.
4. Explain how some transplanted patients can be weaned off immunosuppressive therapy without sustaining graft loss.

2:00 p.m.

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD): Incidence, Diagnosis, Complications and Management, Wayne J. Franklin, MD, FACC, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 percent of babies born in the United States have congenital heart defects. They range from simple defects with no symptoms to complex defects with severe, life-threatening symptoms. The diagnosis and treatment of CHD has greatly improved over the past few decades and, as a result, almost all children who have complex heart defects survive to adulthood and can live active, productive lives. With this increased longevity, children with CHD grow out of needing pediatric care, and health care providers who take care of adults are now managing this patient population. Studies suggest that this transition may be challenging, and health care providers do not always know the best way to smoothly transition care for these patients This session will review the types, signs and symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments for complex CHD. It will also review the impact congenital heart defects have on quality of life and self-efficacy in children and adults with this disease and the challenges that children face as they transition from pediatric to adult care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the incidence, diagnoses, types, treatment and complications of CHD and its impact on quality of life.
2. Outline the differences between pediatric and adult medical and psychosocial needs for treating CHD, as well as the importance of referral to a specialized center to optimize outcomes.
3. Recognize the importance of working as part of an interdisciplinary team to identify barriers and strategies to improve support for patients with CHD and their families.

2:45 p.m.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): Overcoming Barriers to Patient Care and to Successful Implementation of Clinical Guidelines, Cybele Ghossein, MD, Northwestern Medicine

The CDC reports that over 20 million adults in the United States suffer from CKD. Despite the presence of clinical guidelines, including those created by the National Kidney Foundation, studies suggest that there are numerous barriers to implementation, such as patient-, provider- and system-associated barriers. This session will review the latest treatment guidelines for CKD, outline a model to identify at-risk patients and discuss how to effectively overcome barriers to care. It will also review the importance of optimal timing for referral of CKD patients to a nephrologist.

Learning Objectives:

1. State the prevalence, diagnosis, and management of CKD and how to identify at-risk patients.
2. Identify optimal timing for referral of CKD patients to a nephrologist and methodologies for early identification of patients with CKD.
3. Discuss the latest treatment guidelines for CKD and be able to identify barriers to implementing these guidelines.
4. Identify strategies to communicate more effectively with CKD patients and overcome barriers to their care.

3:30 p.m.

Adjourn