Cutting edge research and education
The ASH Annual Meeting was held in San Diego from December 1-4 and had more presentations and programming dedicated to Castleman disease than in any prior year. A whopping total of 9 research projects related to Castleman disease were presented during the meetings and poster sessions! All 9 projects involved members of the CDCN, with 5 of the projects funded directly by the CDCN. Asked about this year’s research progress, Dr. David Fajgenbaum, Executive Director of the CDCN, said:
“There are more Castleman disease related presentations at ASH than ever before and that comes down to the hard work of the CDCN community. From the gracious donors that supported our research grants to the patients battling Castleman disease that generously donated tissue samples, this year’s impressive showing was a testament to our community.”
In addition to disseminating cutting edge research, the ASH annual meeting also served as an opportunity to teach best practices in Castleman disease diagnosis and treatment to practicing hematologists from around the world. This year, Dr. Fajgenbaum presented about Castleman disease during two dedicated education sessions which provided a forum to teach physicians how to recognize and diagnose idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease. During the session, Dr. Fajgenbaum presented a real-life patient case to teach physicians and researchers about iMCD and seemlessly incorporated recently published treatment guidelines and diagnostic criteria for iMCD into his case presentation. Physicians and researchers rushed out to attend these educational sessions and a total of ~2,000 people attended across both sessions to learn about Castleman disease! See the full iMCD treatment guidelines here and full iMCD diagnostic criteria here.
CDCN Annual Working Dinner
This year’s ASH Annual Meeting also served as the backdrop for the CDCN’s 7th Annual “Accelerating Research and Treatments for Castleman Disease” Working Dinner Meeting. The meeting was held on Saturday, December 1 and included over 80 leading Castleman disease physicians and researchers–the highest number ever! The dinner served as an opportunity to review new research, discuss challenges and issues related to patient care, and set the CDCN’s research plan for 2019. Speaking about the importance of the CDCN’s working dinner, Dr. Fajgenbaum said:
“It served as an opportunity for the CDCN’s network of physicians and researchers to come together, discuss the past year’s progress, and set our goals for next year. Looking back to our first meeting in 2012, the progress has been striking. This year was our best meeting yet!”
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List of Castleman disease Abstracts
1. Serum Proteomics Reveals Distinct Subtypes Associated with Treatment Response in Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease – Dustin Shilling, PhD, Jason R Ruth, PhD, Christopher Sheild Nabel, MD, PhD, Sheila K Pierson, MS, Mary Guilfoyle, MS, Craig Tendler, MD, Manjula P Reddy, MS, MSc, Michael Weinblatt, MD, Nancy Shadick, MD, MPH, Mark Bower, MD, Alessia Dalla Pria, MD, Yasufumi Masaki, MD, PhD, Philip Beineke, MS, Sofija Miljovska, MS, Laura Katz, MA, Sushila Shenoy, PhD, Ana B Oromendia, PhD, Jason Mezey, PhD, Jeff Wiser, MS, Jef Benbanaste, MBA, David Lee, MA, Alexander Fosså, MD, PhD, Frits van Rhee, MD, PhD and David C Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc
2. Pilot Study of Tocilizumab in Patients with HIV and Symptomatic Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV)-Associated Multicentric Castleman Disease – Ramya Ramaswami, MBBS, MPH, Kathryn Lurain, MD, MPH, Anaida Widell, Mark N. Polizzotto, Priscila H. Goncalves, MD, Matthew Lindsley, Seth M. Steinberg, PhD, Denise Whitby, Thomas S. Uldrick, MD, MS and Robert Yarchoan, MD
3. Hypercytokine-Producing Cells and Oligoclonal T-Cell Populations in Lymph Nodes from Castleman Disease Patients – Anna Wing, Wenzhao Meng, Ph.D., Gerald Wertheim, M.D., Ph.D, Dale Frank, M.D., Michele Paessler, D.O., Megan S. Lim, M.D., Ph.D., Eline T. Luning Prak, M.D., Ph.D., David C Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc and Vinodh Pillai, M.D., Ph.D
4. Oligoclonal Expansion of Cd8+ T Cells during Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease Flares Suggests an Antigen Driven Process – Dustin Shilling, PhD, Jason E Stadanlick, PhD, Wenzhao Meng, Ph.D., Abhishek Rao, MS, Vera P Krymskaya, PhD, MBA, FCPP, Eline T. Luning Prak, M.D., Ph.D., Evgeniy B Eruslanov, PhD and David C Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc
5. Personalized Therapy in Multicentric Castleman Disease Produces Excellent Outcomes in a Tertiary Referral Center – Katie Stone, BS, Francisco Socola, MD, Amy Greenway1*, Samina Waheed, Kristen Carter, APRN, Diane Glendinning, APRN, Daisy Alapat, MD and Frits van Rhee, MD, PhD
6. Treatment of Unresectable Unicentric Castleman Disease with Therapeutic Embolization – Meera Mohan, MD, James C Meek, MD, Mary Elizabeth Meek, MD, Ralph Lynn Broadwater, MD, Katie Stone, BS, Amy Greenway, Daisy Alapat, MD and Frits van Rhee, MD, PhD
7. Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Changes in Immune Cell Composition and Distinct Inflammatory Gene Expression Profiles during Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease Flare – Ruth-Anne Langan, BA, Dustin Shilling, PhD, Michael Gonzalez, PhD, Charlly Kao, PhD, Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD, Taku Kambayashi, MD, PhD and David C Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc
8. A Prospective Phase II Study of Thalidomide, Cyclophosphamide and Prednisone in Newly Diagnosed Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman’s Disease – Lu Zhang, MD, Ai-lin Zhao, MD, Jun Feng, MD, Xinxin Cao, MD, Yan Zhang, MD, Tienan Zhu, MD, Minghui Duan, MD, Daobin Zhou, MD and Jian Li, MD
9. Pi3k/Akt/Mtor Pathway Activity Is Increased in Lymph Node Tissue from Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease Patients with Tafro Syndrome – Dustin Shilling, PhD, Dale M Kobrin, BA and David C Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc