Clinical Transplant Research
Fred Appelbaum, M.D., Program Head
The overall goal of the Program in Clinical Transplant Research is to improve the therapy of cancer in children and adults through the conduct of clinical trials, many of which involve marrow and stem cell transplantation. Some of the concepts being tested in these clinical trials come from members of this Program but many others originate in the other research programs of the Clinical Research Division and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. However, it is the responsibility of this Program to ensure the translation of these ideas into clinical trials that are important, well constructed, carefully performed and appropriately analyzed.
Members of this Program include experienced clinicians, biostatisticians and pathologists among others. Included in this Program are Fred Appelbaum who serves as the Program Head, is the Director of the Clinical Research Division and is the Principal Investigator on the Adult Leukemia Center Program Project Grant, the grant that is the major source of research support for the Clinical Transplant Program. Dr. Bill Bensinger has responsibility for the clinical aspects of our autologous transplant activity. Dr. Jerry Radich oversees our activity in experimental pathology and is assisted by Dr. Eileen Bryant. Dr. Shelly Heimfeld is in charge of the stem cell collection and cell processing activities. Dr. Tom Chauncey heads the transplant unit at the Veteran's Administration Puget Sound Health Care System. Drs. George Sale, Bob Hackman, Howard Shulman and Dave Myerson are pathologists who have long been associated with this Program and provide both diagnostic expertise as well as research skills. Drs. Storer, Gooley and Leisenring are biostatisticians committed to this Program. Drs. Banker, Clurman, Fefer, Holmberg, Maloney, Press, Schubach and Storek are scientists with laboratory and clinical research interests linked closely with this Program. Finally, Drs. Sanders, Stewart and Witherspoon are the medical directors who have the responsibility for assuring the safe and accurate provision of these experimental therapies.
There are many pressing topics for clinical transplant research including, for example, the eradication of malignancy, control of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and prevention of transplant-related complications. Clinical trials addressing these issues are often complex with multiple endpoints. For example, a trial studying a possibly more potent immunosuppressive regimen to prevent graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic transplantation for leukemia could result in less GVHD but at the same time lead to an increased risk of infection and an increased incidence of leukemia relapse. Thus, the members of the Program in Clinical Transplant Research must work closely with members of the other programs in the Clinical Research Division in order to set research priorities, identify and deal with potential protocol conflicts, develop clinical trials, monitor their conduct and assist in the analysis of these trials.
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