Hematologists and patients celebrated International CML Awareness Day on 9/22

The 22nd of September is recognised by the CML community as International CML Awareness Day. This year 22nd September fell during the iCMLf-ESH International CML meeting: Biology and Therapy. Over 450 hematologists, scientists and patient advocates met in Baltimore, USA to discuss the latest advances in CML science, therapy and care. International CML Awareness Day was marked by Professor Jorge Cortes during his opening presentation on 9/22, recognizing the importance of the close collaboration between scientists, clinicians and patients to continue the dramatic progress made treating CML. On the day, patient organisations in more than 30 countries celebrated International CML Awareness Day with various initiatives.

Executive Director of the OncoHemato Clinic

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dr. Ricardo Teixeira is the Executive Director of the OncoHemato Clinic in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). He specialized in medical oncology and clinical hematology according to the guidelines of the Brazilian Medical Association. He graduated in medicine at the School of Medicine at the Fluminense Federal University in Niterói in the State of Rio de Janeiro and made his residency at the Lagoa hospital in Rio de Janeiro. He undertook a visitorship at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and John Hopkins Hospital in the USA. He is fellow of the Oncological Institute of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital of the Complutensis University and Master in Palliative Medicine (Madrid Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain). Dr Teixeira used to be chief of the Clinic of Medical Oncology and Clinical Hematology in the São Paulo Air Hospital and Chief at the Bonsucesso General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

Dr. Teixeira has published many articles on various subjects in clinical hematology and medical oncology in important international periodics. His last publication was the official publication of the Mexican Hematology Society about CML. He participated in the first clinical trial with Mitoxantrone in Brazil.

Dr. Texeira has recently undertaken a 4-weeks preceptorship at the Leukemia Department in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (University of Texas). He will disseminate the preceptorship program of the iCMLf in Brazil in order to offer this training to young hematologists.

Dr Kotlyarchuk, MD
(Lviv, Ukraine)

Dr Kotlyarchuk2 'Thank you very much for your help and support which enabled my participation in the 17th John Goldman Conference. It was an unforgettable experience from many points of view: a great chance to spend 4 days of CML education from the top lecturers; meeting some very nice people; presenting our own data; obtaining ground for new ideas as to how and which way we should move in terms of improving CML management at home; participating in a Fun Run which was a new experience for me!' (Dr Kotlyarchuk, Ukraine)

Dr Kotlyarchuk was supported by the John Goldman Fund in 2015to attend the John Goldman Conference on CML in Estoril. He presented his poster on ‘Pregnancy in chronic myeloid leukemia – an analysis of 19 cases’ during the interactive clinical poster walks.

You can read his full abstract here

CML – a short history of treatment since the mid-20th century

john_goldman The treatment of CML over the last 50 years can be divided into three distinct eras, first cytotoxic drugs, then the choice of allogeneic stem cell transplantation or interferon-alfa (IFN) and most recently the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI).

Hematology Department

Hospital Clínic

University of Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain

Dr Francisco Cervantes is senior consultant at the Hematology Department of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and professor at the University of Barcelona. His scientific interest has been focused on the study of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the Ph-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), mainly their natural history, prognosis, biology, and treatment. As a result of the activity in this field, he has published over 300 articles in peer-review journals. He was coauthor of the publications of the IRIS study that allowed the approval of imatinib as frontline treatment of CML, participated in the introduction of the second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and is a member of the expert panels of the European LeukemiaNet for CML and MPN treatment. In the MPN field, he was the leading author of the prognostic classification of primary myelofibrosis or IPSS. Dr Cervantes is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the European Hematology Association, the International Working Group for MPN Research and Treatment, the European LeukemiaNet, and the PETHEMA Spanish Collaborative Group.