Co-Chairs:
Michael Bishop, MD, NCI
Sergio Giralt, MD, MD Anderson

Primary Aim:

To guide the National Cancer Institute in addressing the problem of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Specific Aims:

1. Review of current "State-of-the-Science" relative to the biology, natural history, prevention and treatment of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

2. Identify what are the most important questions and problems that need to be answered and addresses relative to the biology, natural history, prevention and treatment of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

3. Identify the greatest deficits in current research related to the biology, natural history, prevention and treatment of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

4. Provide specific recommendations as to what studies need to be done and the resources needed to perform in order to answer the questions and provide for the deficits relative to the research related to the biology, natural history, prevention and treatment of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Focus Areas:

I. Biology Underlying recurrence of malignant disease following allogeneic HSCT.

A. Graft-versus-tumor/leukemia reaction (Co-chairs: Jeffrey Miller, Univesity of Minnesota and Frederik Falkenburg, Leiden University)

B. Biology underlying recurrence of malignant disease following allogeneic HSCT (Co-chairs: Mitchell Cairo, Columbia University and Carl June, University of Pennsylvania)

II. Epidemiology and natural history of relapse following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (Co-chairs: Daniel Weisdorf, University of Minnesota and Steven Pavletic, NCI)

III. Strategies/therapies used in the prevention of relapse (Co-chairs: Edwin Alyea, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Stanley Riddell, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute/University of Washington)

IV. Disease-specific methods and strategies monitoring of relapse following allogeneic HSCT (Co-chairs: Alan Wayne, NCI and Nicolaus Kröger, University of Hamburg)

V. Disease-specific treatment of relapse (Co-chairs: David Porter, University of Pennsylvania and Koen van Besien, University of Chicago)