Newsletter May 2008

newsletter the official newsletter for members of the EHA

May 2008

EHA New Newsletter MayStates 2007 Jersey, United by > Marc2Rudoltz

President’s Message: Governance In the Newsletter of November last year, I took the opportunity to look ahead by identifying several major issues that we will focus on in the course of 2008. These issues included our annual meeting, collaboration with external partners, developments in the journal, our plans with respect to education and changes in the Board. A new topic that we have put on the agenda for the first time is governance. In this Newsletter, I would like to focus a bit more on recent discussions that we had during the Board Retreat held several weeks ago in Lisbon and within the newly formed EHA Governance Committee.

Like other organizations, where governance structures have already been established, EHA needs to formalize a structure of good governance, in particular but not exclusively, regarding its relation with pharma. Since its foundation, EHA has established a fruitful and constructive relation with the pharmaceutical industry, while maintaining its independence and integrity at the individual and organizational level. Increased transparency, openness and firm adherence to ethical standards are mandatory to maintain public trust. In January 2008 the Board established the EHA Governance Committee. The Committee, which is chaired by Dr Eric Berntorp (Sweden), has five additional members: Dr Clara Camaschella (Italy), Dr Ulrich Jäger (Austria), Dr Emili Montserrat (Spain), Dr John Goldman (United Kingdom) and Dr Niels Borregaard (Denmark). At a later stage we wish to also involve external advice in our Committee. The strategic objectives of this Committee are to support the development, adoption and implementation of high quality governance processes, protocols, codes of conduct and relationships within the scope of the Association. In many

2 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

instances EHA members, in particular board members, are put in a position of duality or possible conflict of interest. The Governance Committee will start by focusing on the roles and responsibilities of members of the EHA Board, the Executive Board and EHA committees. Guidelines and a code of conduct will be established regarding the role of the pharmaceutical companies on one hand and the involvement of EHA Board and committee members on the other hand. Another area where governance is important for EHA is in its role as a provider of CME accreditation. One of the major goals of establishing a CME accreditation program is to ensure that medical and scientific information presented during symposia and workshops is unbiased and fully independent of companies that may support these meetings. We are extremely pleased that our CME Accreditation Committee, in particular Dr Francesco Lo Coco (Italy, Chair, CME Committee) and Dr Archie Prentice (United Kingdom), has proposed guidelines and a code of conduct defining the role of the various partners. We are convinced that this will help to further develop and maintain a constructive collaboration.

Willem Fibbe

This year’s policy forum in Copenhagen will discuss the relation between pharma and academia and we are happy that Dr Mike Greaves from Aberdeen (United Kingdom), former Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Haematology and former President of the British Society for Haematology has accepted the invitation to explain and discuss some of the issues for us. During this forum, the current president of the American Society of Hematology, Dr Ken Kaushansky, and I will briefly outline the positions of ASH and EHA with respect to governance. The EHA Board is an enthusiastic proponent of good governance and is keen to optimize the way in which good governance principles are integrated into EHA procedures. You are all cordially invited to attend our policy forum and to join us in the discussion. Willem Fibbe EHA President

NEW! EHA Partner Fellowship Program fellowships 2008COVER4kant:Opmaak 1

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One of EHA’s areas of focus is to promote the career development of clinical and experimental hematologists

EHA Partner Fellowship Program

and to develop a fellowship program accordingly.

>  In addition to EHA’s existing fellowship program, EHA has therefore created a Partner Fellowship Program for junior researchers from new accession and EU candidate countries. In this way EHA hopes not only to support the career development of junior researchers from these countries, but also to create an inter-institutional network of collaboration. Junior researchers from new accession and EU candidate countries will get the opportunity to carry out research at a western European research center for a three year period. The deadline for the first letter of intent is June 30, 2008.

Sharing knowledge and expertise and creating strong, dynamic networks

for hematology is the EHA mission. In addition to EHA's existing

Fellowship Program a new program has been developed for junior researchers from new accession and EU candidate countries.

For eligibility and submission details please visit www.ehaweb.org.

Contents President’s Message

2

Editorial: Hematology practice in the new Europe 12

Copenhagen June 12-15, the 13th Congress

4

Tutorial Paris: report

14

Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award

6

Wine and Health: Are vintages important?

15

Molecular Hemopoiesis Workshop

8

Journal statistic

17

José Carreras Lecture 2008

9

Present members of the EHA Board of Directors

18

Vodcasts in Copenhagen

10

Upcoming congresses

18

EHA-ASH International Fellowship Awards 2008

10

EHA Executive Office

19

Martin Bergö: EHA fellow receives EU grant

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EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 3

The 13th the European Association This year the 13th Congress of the European Hematology Association will be held in Copenhagen (June 12 – 15). The Scientific Program Committee and The Soren Kierkegaard Square

Education Committee have devised an attractive program with experts presenting state-of-the-art education sessions for scientists, clinicians and hematologists in training. The high quality scientific and educational sessions take place against the background of the friendly and appealing city of Copenhagen.

The Bella Center

>  From the large number of abstracts submitted, a challenging program of simultaneous oral sessions and poster sessions has been selected. The five best abstracts will be presented during the Presidential Symposium on June 14. The fourth EHA-ASH Joint Symposium will focus on the relationship between academia and pharma and is held the same day. The ESH-EHA Joint Symposium on June 13 focuses on communication with transplant patients. The Molecular Hematopoiesis Workshop, which was held for the first time last year, was an overwhelming success and is once again included in this year’s program. The workshop presents cutting edge hematological science in a new and exciting way.

The waterfront

4 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

Congress of Hematology The winner of the José Carreras – EHA Award of 2008 is John Goldman, who will present his lecture “Chronic myeloid leukemia - yesterday, today and tomorrow" on June 13. Prior to this lecture the winners of the Fellowship Program 2008 will be announced. The Arken Museum of Modern Art

For the first time a new award, the EHA Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award, will be presented. The winner of this award is Dieter Hoelzer for his lifetime contribution to the advancement of hematology. The congress program is accredited for Continuing Medical Education (CME) by the EHA-CME Unit and has been approved for accreditation by the American Medical Association. This year’s social program will take place in the Øksnehallen a beautiful, restored warehouse in the very heart of Copenhagen. The evening starts with smooth jazz, ’wild Vikings’ and a standing buffet, and will continue with a DJ to entice everybody to the dance floor. The Black Diamond

If you are not able to join us this year, we hope we can welcome you at the 14th Congress of EHA in Berlin! If you are coming to Copenhagen we trust that this number one hematology congress in Europe will provide you with an exciting interaction with your peers and induce new ideas for your work. Niels Borregaard Congress President 2008 Gilles Salles Chair Scientific Program Committee 13th Congress

The Øksnehallen in Copenhagen

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 5

EHA Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award for Dieter Hoelzer EHA has taken the initiative to establish a new award to honor outstanding

the Competence Network Leukemias Germany, “Kompetenz Netzwerk Leukämien”.

physicians and scientists for their lifetime contribution to the advancement of hematology. The award will be presented for the first time during the 13th Annual Meeting in Copenhagen to Dieter Hoelzer.

Dieter Hoelzer Dieter Hoelzer is Professor of Medicine and Hematology. He gained his medical education at the Universities of Münster, Munich, Vienna and Freiburg where he received his PhD in Clinical Physiology. In 1984 he became Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology, Infectious Diseases at the University of Frankfurt. His main research field is Acute Leukemia. He founded the German Adult ALL Study Group (GMALL) which so far con-

ducted seven multicenter studies in over a 100 participating hospitals, where more than 4000 patients were treated. He is also involved in stem cell research and currently in a gene therapy trial for Chronic Granulomatous Disease. Professor Hoelzer was Vice President of the European Society for Clinical Investigation. He was founder and President of the European Hematology Association (2001-2003) and is currently Vice President of the European School of Haematology and

Dieter Hoelzer, the winner of the EHA Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award

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Professor Hoelzer received several awards including those of the German Cancer Society, the “Deutsche Krebshilfe”, for cancer research, the JohannGeorg-Zimmermann-Price for cancer research and the San Salvatore Award for cancer research and cancer therapy. He is also member of several advisory boards. He was Visiting Professor at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, McGill University, Montreal, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore and The Ohio State University, Columbus. He is author or co-author of more than 500 peer-reviewed publications, co-author of international text books and author of several monographies.

EHA Jean Bernhard Lifetime Achievement Award (Artist: Iris Le Rütte)

ence in hematology. His life was dominated by three poles of interest: - medicine, science and humanity – in the perspective of joining these three aspects and skills in the treatment of patients. After graduating in medicine in Paris in 1926, Bernard started his laboratory training with the bacteriologist Gaston Ramon at the Pasteur Institute in 1929. He was first professor of medecine in 1949, oncology in 1956, and in blood diseases in 1961. In 1932, Bernard gave the first description of the use of high dosage radiotherapy in the treatment of Hodgkin’s disease. Bernard’s research ranged from the demonstration of neoplastic nature of leukemia (1933-1937) to the formulation of methods TUTORIAL dublin:Opmaak 1 of 07-02-2008 treatment. 12:09 Pagina 3

>  Jean A Bernard (May 26, 1907 April 17, 2006) was a French physician and hematologist. For over fifty years Jean Bernard has been a promoter, a guide and a refer-

In 1947, he and Dr Marcel Bessis obtained the first complete remission in leukemia with blood transfusion exchange. In 1948, Bernard and Dr Jean-Pierre Soulier described a hereditary syndrome that did not

allow platelets to stick to blood vessels and form clots. It leads to bleeding in children and is now known as the Jean Bernard-Soulier Syndrome. In 1954 he created the Institute for Leukemia on the Hôpital Saint Louis campus with the aim to foster teaching and research in Hematology and was head of the hematology department of Hôpital Saint Louis in 1957. In all, professorJean Bernard published 14 textbooks and monographs on hematology. He was elected at the Académie Française on March 18, 1976 and elected president of the Académie Française des Sciences in 1981 and was president of the Executive Board of INSERM from 1967-1980. In 1981 he was elected as a member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Department of Medical Sciences. In 1983, he was awarded the Artois-Baillet Latour Health Prize. He was also president of the Ethics Committee in Sciences and Health (1983-1992).

ESH-EHA Hematology Tutorial on

Myeloid Malignancies This workshop is accredited by the European Hematology Association CME system

Chairs: B Bain S McCann G Zini

Dublin

Ireland

November 14 - 15

2008

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 7

Join the Molecular Hemopoiesis Workshop The organizers would like to invite you to join the second Molecular Hemopoiesis Workshop to be held on Friday June 13 in Copenhagen, from14:15 till 17:30.

>  Again the workshop will be divided in three sections, focusing on transcription, normal and leukemic stem cells, and signal transduction. Each session will consist of brief talks describing ongoing research from leading groups, with an emphasis on recent and unpublished data. Tariq Enver

Daniel Tenen

We encourage participants to have additional discussions afterwards. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Looking forward to seeing you there! The organizers: Tariq Enver, Tony Green, Daniel Tenen and Ivo Touw

Tony Green

13th congres COPEN-BOVEN:12th congres vienna a4

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Ivo Touw

13th CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN HEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION

Molecular Hemopoiesis Workshop Organizers: Tariq Enver Tony Green Dan Tenen Ivo Touw

Copenhagen 8 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

Bella Center

Friday June 13, 2008

14:15 - 17:30

John Goldman selected for José Carreras Lecture 13th Congress The EHA Board has selected John Goldman for the José Carreras Lecture at the 13th Congress in Copenhagen. Professor Goldman was until 2004 Chairman of the Department of Haematology at Imperial College in London, Director of the Leukaemia Research Fund Centre for Adult Leukaemia and Clinical Director of the Haematology Department at the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust. Thereafter was appointed a Fogarty Scholar at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda USA from 2004 to 2006.

Hematology, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and EHA (1996-1998). He is a member of the EHA Governance Committee. Professor Goldman's José Carreras Lecture is titled ”Chronic myeloid leukemia - yesterday, today and tomorrow”. Below a summary of this lecture.

Recent progress in treating CML

John Goldman

>  As Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London he now combines a wide range of clinical, research and teaching responsibilities. His professional interests include oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, the action of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in vitro and in vivo and molecular monitoring of response to treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia. Professor Goldman is editor of Bone Marrow Transplantation, a former editor of The Haematology Journal, and an associate editor of the European Journal of Haematology. He is also an editorial board member of numerous other journals and, during the course of his career, has published over 600 papers in peer-reviewed journals. As well as being the founding president of the British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Professor Goldman is also a former president of the International Society for Experimental

For most of the 20th century treatment of patients with Ph-positive CML was directed principally towards palliation - control of symptoms without clear evidence of prolongation of life. One important landmark was the introduction in 1980 of allogeneic stem cell transplantation to treat chronic phase patients, which proved eventually to be 'curative' for the majority of the patients who survived the procedure.

José Carreras

Another important landmark was the observation that patients who did relapse after allo-SCT could be restored to durable complete remission by donor lymphocyte infusions. A third important development was the introduction of interferon-alfa. All these efforts to treat new patients with CML were eclipsed by the introduction of imatinib, the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), in 1998. We now know that 70% of patients with newly diagnosed BCR-ABLpositive CML who receive initial treatment with imatinib will achieve durable complete cytogenetic remission and become long term survivors. Many of these will have no detectable evidence of BCR-ABL transcripts after six  years of therapy. Many unresolved issues remain. Is the acquisition of a BCR-ABL gene the original molecular lesion in CML? What is the basis of genomic instability in this form of leukemia? Why does the disease inexorably progress in the absence of effective treatment? How should patients receiving treatment with a TKI be monitored? How should one define the TKI non-responder? How often is resistance actually due to expansion of a Ph-positive clone with a kinase domain mutation? How should resistant patients be treated? What is the role of immunotherapy in the 21st century? Some of these questions will be addressed by review of current data. John Goldman

The EHA Board selects a winner of the EHA José Carreras Award every year. The presentation of the award is made in the Welcome Ceremony of the Annual Congress in which the winner is invited to give a lecture of 30 minutes. Candidates for this award are basic scientists and clinicians in alternating years and the selection of the winner is based on a number of criteria including making their contribution to the field of hematology, area of expertise, eligibility, other awards, gender and country of origin. The selection committee of this award consists of the EHA President and Board and the chair of the Scientific Program Committee.

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 9

Vodcasts in Copenhagen EHA members and individuals attending the EHA 13th Congress in Copenhagen will again be able to access ‘video-ondemand’-casting via the EHA website. This service was offered for the first time at the 12th Congress in Vienna last year and was highly appreciated by members and congress participants; the webcasts were viewed over 1,300 times in the first few months after the congress.

>  The educational benefits of vodcasting, or webcasting, are significant; it provides congress participants and EHA members with the option to listen to and watch sessions presented at the congress, at a time and place of their choosing. It is possible to listen to talks while travelling and they can be reviewed on multiple occasions. Lastly, vodcasting represents a valuable outreach and distance learning tool. All congress participants and EHA members will receive a personal login and password to view the vodcasted sessions. As with the webcasts, the vodcasts will be available from www. ehaweb.org for two years following the close of the meeting.

Vodcasts, also called video podcasts are a type of audio broadcasting on the internet that delivers on demand audio and video clips. Vodcasts can be viewed on PC’s and portable multi-media players (such as video iPods). The software required can be downloaded free of charge from the internet.

European researchers win EHA-ASH International Fellowship Award The European Hematology Association (EHA) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) have selected Lapo Alinari, MD, and Serena Kimi Perna, MD, as the recipients of the second annual EHA-ASH International Fellowship Award.

>  Dr Alinari, of the Séragnoli Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology in Italy, will pursue his research project, Role of the Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) in B Cell Transformation at The Ohio State University. “This experience will enhance my ability to share and discuss my research with colleagues, which will strengthen my communication skills, challenge my original research ideas, and spark new insight into potential treatment approaches,” said Dr Alinari, who earned his degree in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Florence. Dr Alinari will with Dr John Byrd. In July, Dr Perna will travel to Baylor College of Medicine to continue her work in gene therapy and lymphoproliferative disorders. “I am strongly convinced that an EHA-ASH International Fellowship Award would be of tremendous help in supporting the early stage of my career as a physician-scientist,” stated Dr Perna, who is currently a hematology resident at the San Raffaele Hospital, also in Italy. Dr Perna will work with Dr Malcolm Brenner in Houston. 10 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

Serena Kimi Perna

Lapo Alinari

The EHA-ASH International Fellowship Award provides hematologists in training or in the early phase of their careers with the opportunity to pursue research in a new environment, gaining invaluable experience. Awardees from North America and Europe receive $75,000 to fund their research at the selected host institute. The fellowship, which encourages increased collaboration between scientists, also grants recipients additional travel stipends to attend both the EHA and ASH annual meetings.

EHA fellowship winner 2006, Martin Bergö, receives 2 1,7 million research grant from EU Martin Bergö, Associate Professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University and EHA-José Carreras Young Investigator Fellowship winner in 2006, is to receive a grant of € 1,7 million from the EU for studies into cancer and accelerated ageing.

>  The funding, called the Starting Investigator Grant, is awarded for the first time by the newly-established research funding body, the European Research Council (ERC). The aim of the ERC is to promote scientific excellence in Europe by supporting the best researchers with relatively large research grants. Only a small percentage of nearly 10,000 researchers who submitted an application last spring was successful. “This grant means that we are regarded as occupying the absolute cutting edge of European research in our field, and it is important for both the Sahlgrenska Academy and Göteborg University. For me personally the grant means that I can

“My vision is that the research will lead to a better understanding of the causes of cancer and progeria and to find new treatments. We also hope that our studies will provide us with new information about the factors that govern normal ageing,” adds Martin Bergö. These studies are also likely to provide insight into hemotological disorders such as bone marrow failure and leukemia.

Martin Bergö

focus more closely on my research during the next five years and expand my research team,” says Martin Bergö.

The EHA-José Carreras Young Investigator Fellowship was awarded to Martin Bergö in 2006 for his research: “Role of each of the four enzymes that posttranslationally modify the CAAX proteins in the development of two different Ras-induced haematological malignancies.”

Cover photographs Please be encouraged to send in your scenic photographs for future newsletter covers (size: standing). The EHA offers € 100 for the photograph that will be chosen as cover photo, starting next issue. May 2008

November 2007

May 2007

November 2006

United States Marc Rudoltz (USA)

Denmark Martin Lorenzen (DK)

Switzerland Karin Amrein (CH)

Italy Shaun McCann (IR) EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 11

Editorial

'Hematology practice in the new Europe' Why should hematological disorders reflect sociological change in the world and what are the implications for health services and education of trainees?

ulations and hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease have been incorporated into health services for a number of decades.

For many European countries the result of colonization, from a medical point of view, has been the migration of post colonial populations, with many hematological disorders, to the ‘mother’ country. This migration has taken place for many years since World War II but for some countries with no colonial past the migration has been recent and dramatic in terms of introducing disorders which were virtually unknown and which now have the potential to impose a significant health care burden.

>  The founding of the ‘Common Market’ and subsequently the ‘European Union’ has facilitated movement between citizens of member states and the recent enlargement of the EU has enhanced this migration. Coupled with this has

12 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

been the migration to the EU of political and economic migrants for Africa and Asia. In many European countries health services have been developed to deal with the complexities of hematological problems associated with migratory pop-

The challenges are not only medical but involve sociological and broad health care issues. In England, for example, universal screening of all pregnant women for hemoglobinopathies used to be offered only in parts of the country with high prevalence, but is now universally offered throughout the country. Neonatal screening in a number of countries together with optimal medical care of affected children has been shown to be effective with very low mortality rates. As stated by Roberts and de Montalembert in 2007 the majority of patients with Hb SS disease is managed in hospital because of the need for access to parental analgesia, investigations and transfusion. More recently many countries are endeavoring to encourage the movement of treatment to the primary care setting.

Non-EU, USA immigrants vs. Haemoglobinopathy Screens, 1994 to 2003 20,000

Rest of World Immigrants Hbopathy Requests

15,000

wonders if the lack of support for research and clinical care for hemoglobinopathies reflects the fact that these disorders are limited to immigrants and does this in some mirror the dearth of interest and research into HIV infection in the early 1980s.

10,000 5,000 0

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Figure 1

Let me present the perspective from a country where the problem of diagnosis and treatment of hemoglobinopathies has been a very recent event. In Ireland the immigrant population now represents about 10% of the population. This change has taken place over a very short time period, approximately 10 years, probably the most rapid in Europe. In a country without a history of inward migration but a very definite memory of emigration the landscape has been radically altered. To give some idea of the scale of the change we can look at the laboratory diagnoses and neonatal screening requests. Figure 1 shows the increase in non- EU, USA immigrant hemoglobinopathy screens in a large teaching hospital in Dublin between 1994 and 2003. The steady rise in hemoglobinopathy screens mirrors the population changes. Like wise the pattern in maternity hospitals has totally changed in recent years (the vast majority of births in Ireland take place in specialist maternity hospitals). In one large maternity hospital in 2002 the number of non-EU mothers delivering was approximately 10% with about half of these coming from Africa. Over 850 requests were made for screening for hemoglobinopathies. The percentage of mothers being delivered in a large maternity hospital in Dublin in 2006 is shown in figure 2 and indicated that approximately 10% of mothers are from Africa or the Middle East/Asia. The Irish government has attempted to disperse immigrant population throughout the country to for obvious social reasons. This means that patients with HbSS - there are over 250 homozygous

children in Ireland - may attend hospitals and clinics where there is little experience in dealing with their problems. Medical, nursing and other health care workers may have received training outside Ireland in countries where hemoglobinopathies are well recognized but education of other staff who may not have had this experience is extremely important. Whereas children tend to go to regional pediatric centers in the case of adults this may not be true. Following on the experience in the EU a better outcome can be expected for children with Hb SS but this in turn will lead to a larger number of adults in the population, which in turn will create a demand on medical services. Trainees in hematology together with nursing and other health care workers need education in the diagnosis and management of hemoglobinopathies but the real battle will be to win over the politicians to provide adequate funding. One

Constant pressure on government and advocacy by hematologists and all health care workers will be necessary to influence politicians especially in countries where these disorders are relatively recent. Any new contractual arrangements for doctors which attempts to restrain advocacy on the part of patients should be resisted. Shaun McCann Editor-in-Chief

Irene Roberts and Marianne de Montalembert. Sickle cell disease as a paradigm of immigration haematology: new challenges for hematologists in Europe. Haematologica/The Hematology Journal, 2007;92 (07) 865 -871. Figure 2 adapted from Coombe Women’s Hospital Annual Clinical Report 2006. I would like to thank Dr Corrina McMahon Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin for helpful advice.

Percentage of Country of Birth & Nationality in a major Dublin Maternity Hospital EU Rest of Europe (including Russia)

86,1%

Middle East Rest of Asia United States Africa Australia

5,8%

4,8%

0,8%

1,1% 0,3%

0,7%

Uncoded

0,4%

Figure 2

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 13

Social evening during 13th congress >  The EHA would like to welcome you to the social evening on Saturday June 14. This great networking event will take place in the beautiful old restored warehouse Øksnehallen, located in the heart of Copenhagen. The evening starts with smooth jazz, wild Vikings and a standing buffet, and will continue with a DJ to entice everybody to the dance floor! The price of this event is € 35 (drinks and buffet included) and tickets can be acquired through your congress application form and at the registration desk in the Bella Center.

The Øksnehallen in Copenhagen

Haematologica / The Hematology Journal Overview of submitted manuscripts from 2004 till 2008 1600 1470 1383

1352

1200 1043

993 806 800

722

474

438

422 400

303 211 71

70

54

15

0 2007

Manuscripts arrived Manuscripts refused rejected 14 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

2006

2005

Manuscripts accepted Manuscripts solicited

2004

Wine and health: Are vintages important? In the last newsletter I wrote about the presumed benefits of resveretrol in wine in preventing cardiovascular disease. Since then evidence was presented in the Journal of Carcinogenesis by Coral Lamartiniere and colleagues from the departments of pharmacology and toxicology and pathology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in a study partly funded by the NCI that resveretrol diminishes the risk of prostate cancer in mice. Unfortunately the amount of resveretrol given to the mice was equivalent to a bottle of wine per day which is not advisable. The leading author Lamartiniere drinks a glass of red wine in the evening and Jacob Gaffney, writing in the Wine Spectator goes one better as he drinks a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon every night and takes resveretrol supplements every day!

>  All wine drinkers, and I include most of my medical colleagues, are faced with this question sooner or later; what makes a good vintage? Are good vintages found in all wine-growing areas in the same year? How can one remember the good years? I suppose the last question is the most important for the average wine drinker and certainly is the most difficult to answer. What makes a good vintage is a combination of the ideal growing conditions, the correct balance between sun and rain and the decision of the oenologist to pick the grapes at the right time. The oenologist cannot control weather but can dictate the time to pick the grapes. Climatic conditions that are ideal for vines may not be suitable for humans. Snow in the winter may be excellent for vines as the snow melts slowly the moisture penetrate into the soil. This will be good for the vines as later in the year the roots will travel deep under the ground to find water. This helps to produce grapes of good quality. Lots of sun in the last month before the harvest is clearly what the oenologist wants and the great fear is rain and moisture near harvest time as this inhibits full ripening and encourages the

growth of fungus. Heavy rain and even hail may occur in June or July and may prove catastrophic as large areas of grapes may be irreversibly damaged. What are the experts predicting for 2007? Well you’ll be glad to hear that overall it was an excellent vintage. In Bordeaux it was a mixed vintage. The summer was cloudy and wet white and sweet wines should be good according to James Suckling in the Wine Spectator. He is

also very optimistic about the wines of Piedmonte and even more enthusiastic about Tuscany. Marco Pallanti from Castello di Ama, near Radda in Chianti is quoted as saying;’ The relatively high grade of alcohol with good acidity points to a wine that will age well’. Bruce Sanderson says wine quality will be variable and depend very much on individual wine makers’ ability to control fungus. He also promises very good wines from Germany. In the Rhône valley, according to James Molesworth conditions were excellent and superb wines should be produced in the south but the north fared similarly to the rest of France. The yields of red grapes were down in Rioja, Navarra and Priorat which will result in higher prices but the Albarino-based whites from Galicia should be excellent according to Jacob Gaffney. Yields were down and again fungus was a problem in Portugal. Some Port shippers say they may make vintage quality wines! So unfortunately there is no easy way to remember if a vintage was good or not. A little knowledge about the climatic conditions perhaps linked to pleasant memories of autumn sunshine may help! Ciao. Giovanni Morelli

Castella di Ama, a top quality producer of Chaint Classico

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 15

‘Letter to the Editor’ > The EHA Newsletter encourages its readers to share their opinions through letters to the editor. We would like to hear your ideas on any topic in hematology. We would also appreciate your views on the Newsletter, favorable or not! Letters must be short (maximum of 300 words) and may be edited. If you are interested in having your Letter to the Editor published, please be sure to include your full name and accurate contact information. Anonymous letters to the editor cannot be published. E-mail us at [email protected] The EHA Newsletter Editors Shaun McCann Catherine Lacombe

Shaun McCann

Catherine Lacombe

Membership Survey 2008: We need your opinion! > In the second half of 2008, a survey will be held among all EHA members. Knowing how EHA is perceived by you – the member - is the basis for developing programs, policies and activities. Are we on the right track? Is this what the EHA member expects? How can we improve?

In September you will receive an e-mail with your login details to the online membership survey. Please be so kind to spend a few minutes and let us know what you think! Ivo Touw Chair EHA Membership Committee

EHA Members 2700 Member participation in the EHA Annual Congress 2007 Vienna: 59 % 2006 Amsterdam: 31%

Benefits of EHA Membership - Subscription to Haematologica/ The Hematology Journal (impact factor 5.032) - Reduction of € 180 on the individual registration fee for the EHA Annual Congress (junior members receive a reduction of € 105). - Eligible to apply for EHA Research Fellowships & Grants - Entitled to apply for a scholarship to attend ESH-EHA Scientific Workshops - EHA Newsletter - Access to the webcast of the EHA annual congress - Access to the EHA membership database

16 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

ESH – EHA tutorial on diagnostic work-up of hematological malignancies

“Focus on Anemia and Myelodysplasia” An ESH-EHA Tutorial on the ‘Diagnostic Work-Up of Hematological Malignancies’ took place in Paris on February 29 – March 2, 2008. Entitled “Focus on Anemia and Myelodysplasia”, this represented the 5th classic Tutorial following the pattern established for the previous four held annually at the Catholic University in Rome since 2004 which have centered on various aspects of the diagnostic work-up of myeloid and lymphoid malignancies.

>  The Paris Tutorial focused for the first time on topics – anemia and myelodysplasia - not previously covered. There were over 90 participants and faculty members from more than 20 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Venezuela). Many participants had already taken part in one or more previous Tutorials in Rome, further underlying the success of this well established initiative. Over the years, Tutorials have developed through close collaboration between Gina Zini (Rome), Barbara Bain (London) and Robin Foà (Rome), under the umbrella of ESH and EHA, with the aim of offering a modern course dedicated to the diagnostic work-up of acute and chronic hemato-

logical malignancies based on the use of the most advanced technologies and internet facilities. Tutorials have been organized over three days with formal didactic lectures, as well as on tutored clinical cases. Self-learning and self-evaluation sessions are also incorporated in the program. A final session devoted to discussion of results, overall satisfaction of the attendees and statistical evaluations concludes the Tutorial. In Paris, for the first time, a portable voting box system was successfully utilized. This makes the delivery of the Tutorials much simpler than in the past, when multiple platforms were made available for the participants who thus worked in small groups. This voting box system simplifies the organization of Tutorials in different countries in Europe and outside Europe largely utilizing the available and valuable

material gathered from the classic Tutorials. In this respect, a Tutorial on myeloid malignancies with available material (type II Tutorial) is already planned for November 14-15, 2008 in Dublin and another one on lymphoid malignancies is scheduled for autumn 2009 in Barcelona. Another classic (type I) Tutorial - “Focus on Chronic Malignancies” - is instead scheduled for February 20-22, 2009 in Paris. Finally, cases from this last Tutorial on anemia and myelodysplasia, as for the previous ones, will be gradually uploaded onto the EHA website www.ehaweb.org as both clinical cases and test cases through which CME points can be gained. Robin Foà University ‘La Sapienza’ Rome

The ESH-EHA Tutorial on Anemia and Myelodysplasia welcomed 101 participants

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 17

Present members of the EHA Board Willem Fibbe – President 2007-2009 – The Netherlands

Upcoming Congresses Copenhagen

Robin Foà – President Elect 2007-2009 – Italy Eva Hellström-Lindberg – Past President 2007-2009 – Sweden Hartmut Döhner – Treasurer 2007-2010 – Germany Irene Roberts – Secretary 2006-2009 – United Kingdom Catherine Lacombe – 2005-2009 – France Cristina Meccuci – 2004-2008 – Italy Christine Chomienne – 2007-2011 – France

> 13th Congress of the EHA Date: June 12-15, 2008 Place: Copenhagen, Denmark Congress President: Prof. N Borregaard

Erik Berntorp – 2005-2009 – Sweden Ivo Touw – 2006-2010 – The Netherlands Clara Camaschella – 2007-2011 – Italy

Berlin

Radek Skoda – 2006-2010 – Switzerland Ulrich Jäger – 2006-2010 - Austria

Colophon The EHA Newsletter is published by the European Hematology Association twice a year. Membership of the European Hematology Association includes subscription to the EHA Newsletter. Editors Editor-in-Chief Editor Editorial Assistant Review Editor

Shaun McCann Catherine Lacombe Petra Stork Irene Roberts

> 14th Congress of the EHA Date: June 4-7, 2009 Place: Berlin, Germany Congress President: Prof. R Hehlmann

Barcelona

Photography & Illustrations Marc Rudoltz, cover Jim Cogan, page 12 Rik Craenmehr, page 19 Printing Drukkerij BibloVanGerwen, ’s-Hertogenbosch Contact editors For general remarks, questions and suggestions e-mail [email protected]

18 > EHA Newsletter May 2008

> 15th Congress of the EHA   Date: June 10 – 13, 2010 Place: Barcelona, Spain Congress President: Prof. J San Miguel

EHA Executive Office Carin Smand Managing Director

Ans Steuten Executive Management Fellowships & Grants

Petra Stork Publication & Communication

Liz Stokes Assistant to Managing Director

Ineke van der Beek External Affairs National Societies

Thom Duyvené de Wit CME

Annemiek Kuijsten Annual Congress Sponsor Program

Angela de Vlaming Membership

Victoria Zhuravleva Education

Djowrain Bouterse Office Manager

Rik Craenmehr CME Assistant

Willem Bronkhorst Bookkeeping Assistant

Yim Cheong Membership Assistant

Cassandra de Reus General Assistant

Contact Information EHA Executive Office Westblaak 71 3012 KE Rotterdam The Netherlands Phone +31 (0)10 4361 760 Fax: +31(0)10 4361 817 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ehaweb.org

EHA Newsletter May 2008 > 19

the official newsletter for members of the EHA

Corporate Sponsors 2008 Gold Sponsors

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EHA Executive Office Westblaak 71 3012 KE ROTTERDAM The Netherlands T. +31 (0)10 436 17 60 F. +31 (0)10 436 18 17 E. [email protected] W. www.ehaweb.org

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