September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month: Thank You to Our Amazing Team!
National Leaders in Allogeneic Transplantation
Young Mother, Mabel Barba, Shares her Leukemia and Blood and Marrow Transplant Journey
Andrunette’s Story: How Cord Blood Donation Gave Her the Gift of Life
Andrunette Britt was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2015.
Here, Andrunette talks about her journey, her stem cell transplant and
the expert care she received from her team at Northside Hospital Cancer Institute.
To read more about Andrunette's story, click here.
Ed Irwin’s Leukemia and Transplant Journey
My name is Ed. I am a biomedical engineer, primarily focused on the cognitive and biomechanic effects of work, aging, and disability. I was born in 1960, so before Leukemia happened to me my wife Elizabeth and I had seen our three sons grow up, start their families and careers, and leave us to begin building our post-middle age lives together. At age 57, I enjoyed excellent health – swimming a mile, four days per week, and working full-time as an engineer and research scientist.
To read more about Ed’s leukemia and allogeneic transplant, click here.
We Thank our Patients
We would like to thank our patients, caregivers and team members who continuously support our nationally recognized BMT/Leukemia/Immunotherapy Programs. Our BMT Program is the ONLY adult program in the U.S. that achieved survival outcomes that significantly exceeded their expected survival rate for the last 12 consecutive reporting cycles.
Please click the images above to view Lindsay Stead’s and Caroline Campbell's BMT and Leukemia patient testimonials.
Join this live virtual program to hear Dr. Bachier, with the Blood & Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia, provide an overview of AML. This program will discuss the types of AML, treatment options and side effects, current clinical trials, and what hematopoietic stem cell transplant means for those diagnosed with AML. This program will include a live Q&A.
Congratulation to the NH-BMT Program
Successful BMT CTN Grant Renewal 2017 – 2023
NH-BMT program achieved BMT CTN Core Center Grant renewal funding for years 2017 - 2023. Past performance, current application, and PI leadership contributed to the grant renewal. NH-BMT applied as a consortium with University of Miami and Levine Cancer Institute. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) provide BMT CTN research grant funding.
Achieving this award is a validation of the efforts of each person in the program, the support of the administration, and leadership of the BMTGA physicians. For further information, please read Press Release.
Congratulations to Ashley Soule, RN, BSN, BMTCN, CCRC, Program Clinical Research Nurse
Northside and BMTGA team members (Ashley is 3rd in from the right) at the 2022 ASBMT and CIBMTR Tandem meetings.[/caption]
The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) honored our very own Ashley Soule, RN, BSN, BMTCN, CCRC, Clinical Research Nurse II, for her outstanding performance and contributions to clinical trials throughout the 2021 year.
Ashley states, “Working in clinical research, staff has the unique experience of forming relationships with patients from the moment a physician thinks a patient would be a good candidate for a clinical trial through their very last follow up visit. It is humbling to work with these patients who give a face to the years and hard work it takes for novel therapies to become FDA approved so that future patients can safely benefit from them. This award is a testament to the precision and teamwork in every aspect of our Program. “
DETERMINATION Trial: Upfront Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Improves Progression Free Survival in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
The phase III DETERMINATION trial, presented at the ASCO plenary session and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in early June, was a pivotal study that examined the benefit of upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma.
To read more, click here.
Dr. Scott Solomon Co-Authors a Lancet Peer Reviewed (CAR) T-cell Article
NH Immunotherapy Program participated in a landmark clinical research trial that compared lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), an autologous, CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, versus standard of care with salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation as second-line treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (TRANSFORM). Study results support liso-cel as a new second-line treatment recommendation in patients with early relapsed or refractory LBCL.
The publication can be located at Lancet Volume 399, Issue 10343, 18–24 June 2022, Pages 2294-2308.
Congratulations to Dr. Lizamarie Bachier-Rodriguez, a Castle Connolly Top Doctor
We are honored to announce that Dr. Lizamarie Bachier- Rodriguez is now recognized as a Connolly Top Doctor. She joins Dr. H Kent Holland, Dr. Lawrence E. Morris, Dr. Scott R. Solomon, Dr. Melhem M. Solh and Dr. Asad Bashey as a Blood and Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia Castle Connolly Top Doctor.
For over 25 years, Castle Connolly has been proud to be the most trusted resource in identifying Top Doctors. This recognition is given to only the top 7% of all US board-certified physicians.
To make a BMT, leukemia or CAR T-cell referral, please call 404-255-1930.
WebMD Features Dr. Larry Morris and Ray Gillespie, a Northside Immunotherapy Program CAR T-cell Patient
To refer a CAR T-cell patient, please call 404-255-1930 or visit http://www.bmtga.com/immunotherapy-program-at-northside/
Dr. Scott Solomon and Our Mutliple Myeloma Patient, Bryon Daily, are Featured in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Recent Patient-Doctor Perspectives Podcast.
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: Novel Phase I Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: Novel Phase II Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: Novel Phase IIb Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: A-Phase-II-Openlabel-Multicenter-Study Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: A-Phase-II-Openlabel-Multicenter-Study Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Post- Blood and Marrow Transplant Immunization Schedule- What You Need to Know
After blood and marrow transplant, patients will need to be re-immunized with all childhood vaccinations due to their new immune systems being immature and vulnerable to diseases/infections. It is recommended that post-transplant patients begin their vaccination schedule six months after transplant unless clinically contraindicated. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), recommends the following:
- Inactivated influenza vaccine should be administered beginning at least 6 months after HCT and annually thereafter for the life of the patient.
- Sequential administration of 3 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended, beginning 3-6 months after the transplant, followed by a dose of PPSV.
- A 3-dose regimen of Hib vaccine should be administered beginning 6 months after transplant; at least 1 month should separate the doses.
- MMR vaccine should be administered 24 months after transplant if the HCT recipient is immunocompetent.
- If a decision is made to vaccinate with varicella vaccine, the vaccine should be administered a minimum of 24 months after transplantation if the HCT recipient is presumed to be immunocompetent.
Please click here to view the NH-BMT post-transplant vaccination schedule recommended for both autologous and allogeneic transplant recipients. For more specific information, see Tomblyn M, Chiller T, Einsele H, et al. Guidelines for Preventing Infectious Complications among Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Recipients: A Global Perspective [1.9MB, 96 pages]. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 15:1143-1238;2009 or visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines.