McCormick Place, site of

the ASCO Annual Meeting

© ASCO/Todd Buchanan

CHICAGO—Lenalidomide maintenance after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) should be considered the standard of care in

newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients, according to a meta-analysis presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Lenalidomide maintenance increased overall survival (OS), with a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival.

Several studies have demonstrated that lenalidomide maintenance post-ASCT reduces the risk of disease progression or death in patients with MM by about 50%.

However, these studies were not powered for OS, said Philip McCarthy, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

With this in mind, Dr McCarthy and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effect of post-ASCT lenalidomide maintenance on OS using a pooled analysis of primary source patient data. A search revealed 17 randomized, controlled trials using lenalidomide post-ASCT.

Three trials met pre-specified inclusion criteria and had sufficient OS events to test a treatment effect. The studies intended for lenalidomide maintenance to be given until progression.

In these trials, 1209 MM patients, with a median age of 58, were randomized from 2005 to 2009 to receive lenalidomide (605 patients) at 10 mg/day on days 1-21/28 or days 1-28/28. The remaining 604 patients served as controls. Baseline characteristics were generally balanced between the 2 groups.

With a median follow-up of 6.6 years, 491 patients (41%) had died.

After induction and single (82%) or tandem (18%) ASCT, 55% of patients achieved a complete response (CR) or very good partial response.

The median OS has not been reached in the lenalidomide arm but was 86 months for the control arm.

“There is a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival,” Dr McCarthy said.

The OS benefit favoring lenalidomide was generally consistent across the majority of subgroup analyses, including age, sex, ISS stage, response after ASCT, and prior induction therapy.

All studies contributed to the positive results of the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity tests showed significant differences across trials, mainly because of a difference in the magnitude of treatment effect, Dr McCarthy said.

The mean treatment duration of maintenance was 25 to 30 months in the lenalidomide group and 13 to 20 months in controls. About one-third to more than half of the patients received therapy for 3 or more years, Dr McCarthy said.

Lenalidomide led to an increased risk in the cumulative incidence of hematologic and solid tumor second primary malignancies. However, Dr McCarthy said the OS benefit of lenalidomide maintenance outweighs the risk of developing second primary malignancy.

“This large meta-analysis demonstrates that lenalidomide maintenance significantly prolonged OS post-ASCT, including in patients who achieved CR, demonstrating benefit in patients in all response categories,” Dr McCarthy said.

“Lenalidomide maintenance after ASCT can be considered a standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. However, we have more to learn. Understanding the role of minimal residual disease detection and immune reconstitution after transplant should allow us to further improve OS. Critically, developing early endpoints as surrogates for long-term outcome and OS is important for the future. Otherwise, trials may continue for 10 years or longer.”

Dr McCarthy presented these findings as abstract 8001.

McCormick Place, site of

the ASCO Annual Meeting

© ASCO/Todd Buchanan

CHICAGO—Lenalidomide maintenance after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) should be considered the standard of care in

newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients, according to a meta-analysis presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Lenalidomide maintenance increased overall survival (OS), with a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival.

Several studies have demonstrated that lenalidomide maintenance post-ASCT reduces the risk of disease progression or death in patients with MM by about 50%.

However, these studies were not powered for OS, said Philip McCarthy, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

With this in mind, Dr McCarthy and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effect of post-ASCT lenalidomide maintenance on OS using a pooled analysis of primary source patient data. A search revealed 17 randomized, controlled trials using lenalidomide post-ASCT.

Three trials met pre-specified inclusion criteria and had sufficient OS events to test a treatment effect. The studies intended for lenalidomide maintenance to be given until progression.

In these trials, 1209 MM patients, with a median age of 58, were randomized from 2005 to 2009 to receive lenalidomide (605 patients) at 10 mg/day on days 1-21/28 or days 1-28/28. The remaining 604 patients served as controls. Baseline characteristics were generally balanced between the 2 groups.

With a median follow-up of 6.6 years, 491 patients (41%) had died.

After induction and single (82%) or tandem (18%) ASCT, 55% of patients achieved a complete response (CR) or very good partial response.

The median OS has not been reached in the lenalidomide arm but was 86 months for the control arm.

“There is a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival,” Dr McCarthy said.

The OS benefit favoring lenalidomide was generally consistent across the majority of subgroup analyses, including age, sex, ISS stage, response after ASCT, and prior induction therapy.

All studies contributed to the positive results of the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity tests showed significant differences across trials, mainly because of a difference in the magnitude of treatment effect, Dr McCarthy said.

The mean treatment duration of maintenance was 25 to 30 months in the lenalidomide group and 13 to 20 months in controls. About one-third to more than half of the patients received therapy for 3 or more years, Dr McCarthy said.

Lenalidomide led to an increased risk in the cumulative incidence of hematologic and solid tumor second primary malignancies. However, Dr McCarthy said the OS benefit of lenalidomide maintenance outweighs the risk of developing second primary malignancy.

“This large meta-analysis demonstrates that lenalidomide maintenance significantly prolonged OS post-ASCT, including in patients who achieved CR, demonstrating benefit in patients in all response categories,” Dr McCarthy said.

“Lenalidomide maintenance after ASCT can be considered a standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. However, we have more to learn. Understanding the role of minimal residual disease detection and immune reconstitution after transplant should allow us to further improve OS. Critically, developing early endpoints as surrogates for long-term outcome and OS is important for the future. Otherwise, trials may continue for 10 years or longer.”

Dr McCarthy presented these findings as abstract 8001.

McCormick Place, site of

the ASCO Annual Meeting

© ASCO/Todd Buchanan

CHICAGO—Lenalidomide maintenance after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) should be considered the standard of care in

newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients, according to a meta-analysis presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Lenalidomide maintenance increased overall survival (OS), with a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival.

Several studies have demonstrated that lenalidomide maintenance post-ASCT reduces the risk of disease progression or death in patients with MM by about 50%.

However, these studies were not powered for OS, said Philip McCarthy, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

With this in mind, Dr McCarthy and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effect of post-ASCT lenalidomide maintenance on OS using a pooled analysis of primary source patient data. A search revealed 17 randomized, controlled trials using lenalidomide post-ASCT.

Three trials met pre-specified inclusion criteria and had sufficient OS events to test a treatment effect. The studies intended for lenalidomide maintenance to be given until progression.

In these trials, 1209 MM patients, with a median age of 58, were randomized from 2005 to 2009 to receive lenalidomide (605 patients) at 10 mg/day on days 1-21/28 or days 1-28/28. The remaining 604 patients served as controls. Baseline characteristics were generally balanced between the 2 groups.

With a median follow-up of 6.6 years, 491 patients (41%) had died.

After induction and single (82%) or tandem (18%) ASCT, 55% of patients achieved a complete response (CR) or very good partial response.

The median OS has not been reached in the lenalidomide arm but was 86 months for the control arm.

“There is a 26% reduction in the risk of death, representing an estimated 2.5-year increase in median survival,” Dr McCarthy said.

The OS benefit favoring lenalidomide was generally consistent across the majority of subgroup analyses, including age, sex, ISS stage, response after ASCT, and prior induction therapy.

All studies contributed to the positive results of the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity tests showed significant differences across trials, mainly because of a difference in the magnitude of treatment effect, Dr McCarthy said.

The mean treatment duration of maintenance was 25 to 30 months in the lenalidomide group and 13 to 20 months in controls. About one-third to more than half of the patients received therapy for 3 or more years, Dr McCarthy said.

Lenalidomide led to an increased risk in the cumulative incidence of hematologic and solid tumor second primary malignancies. However, Dr McCarthy said the OS benefit of lenalidomide maintenance outweighs the risk of developing second primary malignancy.

“This large meta-analysis demonstrates that lenalidomide maintenance significantly prolonged OS post-ASCT, including in patients who achieved CR, demonstrating benefit in patients in all response categories,” Dr McCarthy said.

“Lenalidomide maintenance after ASCT can be considered a standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. However, we have more to learn. Understanding the role of minimal residual disease detection and immune reconstitution after transplant should allow us to further improve OS. Critically, developing early endpoints as surrogates for long-term outcome and OS is important for the future. Otherwise, trials may continue for 10 years or longer.”

Dr McCarthy presented these findings as abstract 8001.

HIV budding from a

cultured lymphocyte

Image courtesy of CDC

With the advent of effective anti-retroviral therapy, patients with HIV-related lymphoma receive standard therapeutic regimens and achieve outcomes comparable to those of non-HIV-infected individuals.

Based on results of a multicenter phase 2 study, this now extends to treatment with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

Researchers found that outcomes were not significantly different between HIV-infected patients who received ASCT and matched controls.

“These findings are remarkably important for a group of patients who, up until now, have been inconsistently treated,” said lead study author Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.

“Based on our data, autologous stem cell transplant should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphomas for the same indications and under the same circumstances that we would use it in patients without HIV infection.”

To arrive at this recommendation, investigators enrolled 43 HIV-infected patients with relapsed or persistent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) onto the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0803/AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) 071 study.

They reported their findings in Blood.

Eligibility

Patients had to be 15 years or older, have documented evidence of HIV infection, and have a Karnofsky performance status of greater than 70%.

They had to have persistent or recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphoma, plasmablastic lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, Burkitt-like NHL, or classic HL.

Patients could have had no more than 3 prior treatment regimens or 2 or fewer salvage regimens.

They had to have adequate organ function, fewer than 10% blasts in their marrow, no prior autologous or allogeneic transplant, and adequate hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization of more than 1.5 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg to be eligible.

Transplant regimen

Patients received the BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) transplant regimen on day 0. They did not receive antiretroviral therapy from the time of the start of BEAM until 7 days after completion of the preparative regimen.

Efavirenz was held for 2 weeks prior to BEAM initiation, and an alternative agent was substituted during this time period. Zidovudine was prohibited following transplant because of its myelosuppressive effects.

Patients received growth factor, transfusion, and antimicrobial supportive care according to institutional standards of the transplant center.

Patient characteristics

Of the original 43 patients enrolled, 3 patients experienced disease progression prior to the conditioning regimen and did not undergo transplant. Therefore, investigators did not include them in the study analysis.

Forty patients received ASCT at 16 different transplant centers. They were a median age of 46.9 (range, 22.5–62.2), and 35 were male.

All patients received peripheral blood stem cell grafts at a median dose of 3.9 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg (range, 1.6–11.0). And all patients were able to mobilize hematopoietic progenitor cells in a median of 2 apheresis collections (range, 1–5).

Most patients (n=32; 80%) had a pre-transplant HIV viral load that was undetectable. The median viral load for those 8 patients with detectable disease was 80 copies/mL (range, 50–17,455).

Patients had a median pre-transplant CD4+ T-cell count of 249.0 CD4+/μL (range, 39–797).

Investigators followed the patients for a median of 24.8 months (range, 2.8–27.2).

Response

Seven patients died during the follow-up period, 5 within 1 year of transplant. Four of the deaths within 1 year of transplant were due to relapse or disease progression.

One-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2%.

The 1-year overall survival (OS) probability was 87.3%, and, at 2 years, it was 82%. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 79.8%, and the cumulative incidence of relapse/progression at 2 years was 12.5%.

The probabilities for OS and PFS at 2 years were comparable for both NHL and HL patients.

The median time to post-transplant neutrophil recovery was 11 days, and 97.5% of patients recovered their neutrophil counts by day 28.

The median time to platelet recovery was 18 days, and 92.5% of patients recovered their platelet counts by day 100.

At 100 days post-transplant, 28.9% of the evaluable patients (11/38) had recovered hematologic function. And at 1 year, 74.2% (23/31) had recovered hematologic function.

Adverse events

A little more than half (55%) the patients had at least 1 infectious event within a year of transplant, including 11 who had a severe infection.

Of the 57 infections that occurred post-transplant, 25 were due to bacteria, 22 to viruses, 6 to fungal organisms, 2 to protozoa, and 2 to other organisms. No patient developed Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia after transplant.

Nine patients experienced a total of 13 grade 3–5 adverse events. This included infection/sepsis (5 events), venous thromboembolism (2 events), and 1 event each for esophageal candidiasis, enteritis, hyperglycemia, hypernatremia, acute appendicitis, and acute coronary syndrome.

Sixteen patients had to be re-admitted to the hospital after the transplant, for a total of 34 readmissions. Infection (18) and fever (6) were the most common reasons for readmission.

Data comparison

The investigators compared the OS and PFS results to a control group identified through the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).

One hundred fifty-one controls matched for age, performance status, primary disease, and disease status at transplant were identified for the 40 HIV-lymphoma cases.

The 1-year OS for the control group was 87.7%, and the 2-year PFS was 69.5%. This compared with the 87.3% and 79.8% for OS and PFS, respectively, for the HIV-lymphoma patients.

These results, the investigators wrote, were not significantly different from outcomes of CIBMTR controls, with a hazard ratio for overall mortality in the HIV-lymphoma patients of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.30–1.50, P=0.33) compared to controls.

And the hazard ratio for treatment failure in the HIV-lymphoma patients was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.2927–1.03, P=0.06) compared to controls.

The investigators concluded that HIV infection alone should not be considered a contraindication to ASCT for patients who otherwise meet transplant inclusion criteria. And ASCT should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphoma, provided that the HIV infection is treatment-responsive.

The team added that these patients should also be considered “appropriate potential participants” for future ASCT clinical trials.

HIV budding from a

cultured lymphocyte

Image courtesy of CDC

With the advent of effective anti-retroviral therapy, patients with HIV-related lymphoma receive standard therapeutic regimens and achieve outcomes comparable to those of non-HIV-infected individuals.

Based on results of a multicenter phase 2 study, this now extends to treatment with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

Researchers found that outcomes were not significantly different between HIV-infected patients who received ASCT and matched controls.

“These findings are remarkably important for a group of patients who, up until now, have been inconsistently treated,” said lead study author Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.

“Based on our data, autologous stem cell transplant should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphomas for the same indications and under the same circumstances that we would use it in patients without HIV infection.”

To arrive at this recommendation, investigators enrolled 43 HIV-infected patients with relapsed or persistent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) onto the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0803/AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) 071 study.

They reported their findings in Blood.

Eligibility

Patients had to be 15 years or older, have documented evidence of HIV infection, and have a Karnofsky performance status of greater than 70%.

They had to have persistent or recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphoma, plasmablastic lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, Burkitt-like NHL, or classic HL.

Patients could have had no more than 3 prior treatment regimens or 2 or fewer salvage regimens.

They had to have adequate organ function, fewer than 10% blasts in their marrow, no prior autologous or allogeneic transplant, and adequate hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization of more than 1.5 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg to be eligible.

Transplant regimen

Patients received the BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) transplant regimen on day 0. They did not receive antiretroviral therapy from the time of the start of BEAM until 7 days after completion of the preparative regimen.

Efavirenz was held for 2 weeks prior to BEAM initiation, and an alternative agent was substituted during this time period. Zidovudine was prohibited following transplant because of its myelosuppressive effects.

Patients received growth factor, transfusion, and antimicrobial supportive care according to institutional standards of the transplant center.

Patient characteristics

Of the original 43 patients enrolled, 3 patients experienced disease progression prior to the conditioning regimen and did not undergo transplant. Therefore, investigators did not include them in the study analysis.

Forty patients received ASCT at 16 different transplant centers. They were a median age of 46.9 (range, 22.5–62.2), and 35 were male.

All patients received peripheral blood stem cell grafts at a median dose of 3.9 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg (range, 1.6–11.0). And all patients were able to mobilize hematopoietic progenitor cells in a median of 2 apheresis collections (range, 1–5).

Most patients (n=32; 80%) had a pre-transplant HIV viral load that was undetectable. The median viral load for those 8 patients with detectable disease was 80 copies/mL (range, 50–17,455).

Patients had a median pre-transplant CD4+ T-cell count of 249.0 CD4+/μL (range, 39–797).

Investigators followed the patients for a median of 24.8 months (range, 2.8–27.2).

Response

Seven patients died during the follow-up period, 5 within 1 year of transplant. Four of the deaths within 1 year of transplant were due to relapse or disease progression.

One-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2%.

The 1-year overall survival (OS) probability was 87.3%, and, at 2 years, it was 82%. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 79.8%, and the cumulative incidence of relapse/progression at 2 years was 12.5%.

The probabilities for OS and PFS at 2 years were comparable for both NHL and HL patients.

The median time to post-transplant neutrophil recovery was 11 days, and 97.5% of patients recovered their neutrophil counts by day 28.

The median time to platelet recovery was 18 days, and 92.5% of patients recovered their platelet counts by day 100.

At 100 days post-transplant, 28.9% of the evaluable patients (11/38) had recovered hematologic function. And at 1 year, 74.2% (23/31) had recovered hematologic function.

Adverse events

A little more than half (55%) the patients had at least 1 infectious event within a year of transplant, including 11 who had a severe infection.

Of the 57 infections that occurred post-transplant, 25 were due to bacteria, 22 to viruses, 6 to fungal organisms, 2 to protozoa, and 2 to other organisms. No patient developed Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia after transplant.

Nine patients experienced a total of 13 grade 3–5 adverse events. This included infection/sepsis (5 events), venous thromboembolism (2 events), and 1 event each for esophageal candidiasis, enteritis, hyperglycemia, hypernatremia, acute appendicitis, and acute coronary syndrome.

Sixteen patients had to be re-admitted to the hospital after the transplant, for a total of 34 readmissions. Infection (18) and fever (6) were the most common reasons for readmission.

Data comparison

The investigators compared the OS and PFS results to a control group identified through the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).

One hundred fifty-one controls matched for age, performance status, primary disease, and disease status at transplant were identified for the 40 HIV-lymphoma cases.

The 1-year OS for the control group was 87.7%, and the 2-year PFS was 69.5%. This compared with the 87.3% and 79.8% for OS and PFS, respectively, for the HIV-lymphoma patients.

These results, the investigators wrote, were not significantly different from outcomes of CIBMTR controls, with a hazard ratio for overall mortality in the HIV-lymphoma patients of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.30–1.50, P=0.33) compared to controls.

And the hazard ratio for treatment failure in the HIV-lymphoma patients was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.2927–1.03, P=0.06) compared to controls.

The investigators concluded that HIV infection alone should not be considered a contraindication to ASCT for patients who otherwise meet transplant inclusion criteria. And ASCT should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphoma, provided that the HIV infection is treatment-responsive.

The team added that these patients should also be considered “appropriate potential participants” for future ASCT clinical trials.

HIV budding from a

cultured lymphocyte

Image courtesy of CDC

With the advent of effective anti-retroviral therapy, patients with HIV-related lymphoma receive standard therapeutic regimens and achieve outcomes comparable to those of non-HIV-infected individuals.

Based on results of a multicenter phase 2 study, this now extends to treatment with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

Researchers found that outcomes were not significantly different between HIV-infected patients who received ASCT and matched controls.

“These findings are remarkably important for a group of patients who, up until now, have been inconsistently treated,” said lead study author Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.

“Based on our data, autologous stem cell transplant should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphomas for the same indications and under the same circumstances that we would use it in patients without HIV infection.”

To arrive at this recommendation, investigators enrolled 43 HIV-infected patients with relapsed or persistent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) onto the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0803/AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) 071 study.

They reported their findings in Blood.

Eligibility

Patients had to be 15 years or older, have documented evidence of HIV infection, and have a Karnofsky performance status of greater than 70%.

They had to have persistent or recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphoma, plasmablastic lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, Burkitt-like NHL, or classic HL.

Patients could have had no more than 3 prior treatment regimens or 2 or fewer salvage regimens.

They had to have adequate organ function, fewer than 10% blasts in their marrow, no prior autologous or allogeneic transplant, and adequate hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization of more than 1.5 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg to be eligible.

Transplant regimen

Patients received the BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) transplant regimen on day 0. They did not receive antiretroviral therapy from the time of the start of BEAM until 7 days after completion of the preparative regimen.

Efavirenz was held for 2 weeks prior to BEAM initiation, and an alternative agent was substituted during this time period. Zidovudine was prohibited following transplant because of its myelosuppressive effects.

Patients received growth factor, transfusion, and antimicrobial supportive care according to institutional standards of the transplant center.

Patient characteristics

Of the original 43 patients enrolled, 3 patients experienced disease progression prior to the conditioning regimen and did not undergo transplant. Therefore, investigators did not include them in the study analysis.

Forty patients received ASCT at 16 different transplant centers. They were a median age of 46.9 (range, 22.5–62.2), and 35 were male.

All patients received peripheral blood stem cell grafts at a median dose of 3.9 x 10⁶ CD34+ cells/kg (range, 1.6–11.0). And all patients were able to mobilize hematopoietic progenitor cells in a median of 2 apheresis collections (range, 1–5).

Most patients (n=32; 80%) had a pre-transplant HIV viral load that was undetectable. The median viral load for those 8 patients with detectable disease was 80 copies/mL (range, 50–17,455).

Patients had a median pre-transplant CD4+ T-cell count of 249.0 CD4+/μL (range, 39–797).

Investigators followed the patients for a median of 24.8 months (range, 2.8–27.2).

Response

Seven patients died during the follow-up period, 5 within 1 year of transplant. Four of the deaths within 1 year of transplant were due to relapse or disease progression.

One-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2%.

The 1-year overall survival (OS) probability was 87.3%, and, at 2 years, it was 82%. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 79.8%, and the cumulative incidence of relapse/progression at 2 years was 12.5%.

The probabilities for OS and PFS at 2 years were comparable for both NHL and HL patients.

The median time to post-transplant neutrophil recovery was 11 days, and 97.5% of patients recovered their neutrophil counts by day 28.

The median time to platelet recovery was 18 days, and 92.5% of patients recovered their platelet counts by day 100.

At 100 days post-transplant, 28.9% of the evaluable patients (11/38) had recovered hematologic function. And at 1 year, 74.2% (23/31) had recovered hematologic function.

Adverse events

A little more than half (55%) the patients had at least 1 infectious event within a year of transplant, including 11 who had a severe infection.

Of the 57 infections that occurred post-transplant, 25 were due to bacteria, 22 to viruses, 6 to fungal organisms, 2 to protozoa, and 2 to other organisms. No patient developed Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia after transplant.

Nine patients experienced a total of 13 grade 3–5 adverse events. This included infection/sepsis (5 events), venous thromboembolism (2 events), and 1 event each for esophageal candidiasis, enteritis, hyperglycemia, hypernatremia, acute appendicitis, and acute coronary syndrome.

Sixteen patients had to be re-admitted to the hospital after the transplant, for a total of 34 readmissions. Infection (18) and fever (6) were the most common reasons for readmission.

Data comparison

The investigators compared the OS and PFS results to a control group identified through the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).

One hundred fifty-one controls matched for age, performance status, primary disease, and disease status at transplant were identified for the 40 HIV-lymphoma cases.

The 1-year OS for the control group was 87.7%, and the 2-year PFS was 69.5%. This compared with the 87.3% and 79.8% for OS and PFS, respectively, for the HIV-lymphoma patients.

These results, the investigators wrote, were not significantly different from outcomes of CIBMTR controls, with a hazard ratio for overall mortality in the HIV-lymphoma patients of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.30–1.50, P=0.33) compared to controls.

And the hazard ratio for treatment failure in the HIV-lymphoma patients was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.2927–1.03, P=0.06) compared to controls.

The investigators concluded that HIV infection alone should not be considered a contraindication to ASCT for patients who otherwise meet transplant inclusion criteria. And ASCT should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphoma, provided that the HIV infection is treatment-responsive.

The team added that these patients should also be considered “appropriate potential participants” for future ASCT clinical trials.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is seeking candidates to fill three vacancies on the committee beginning in October 2016. Nominations are due Thursday, June 30.

The committee is seeking to fill the vacancies with men and women surgeons who are interested in advancing the role of women in the ACS and in encouraging and mentoring women in surgery. The committee encourages representation by individuals of diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following responsibilities:

• Serve an initial three-year term: 2016-2019

• Attend two in-person meetings annually – one during the ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, in the spring, and the other at the annual ACS Clinical Congress

• Participate in quarterly conference calls

• Actively serve on one subcommittee

• Contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with contributions they could offer the committee

• A five-page or shorter summary of their curriculum vitae

Nominations should be submitted to Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is seeking candidates to fill three vacancies on the committee beginning in October 2016. Nominations are due Thursday, June 30.

The committee is seeking to fill the vacancies with men and women surgeons who are interested in advancing the role of women in the ACS and in encouraging and mentoring women in surgery. The committee encourages representation by individuals of diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following responsibilities:

• Serve an initial three-year term: 2016-2019

• Attend two in-person meetings annually – one during the ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, in the spring, and the other at the annual ACS Clinical Congress

• Participate in quarterly conference calls

• Actively serve on one subcommittee

• Contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with contributions they could offer the committee

• A five-page or shorter summary of their curriculum vitae

Nominations should be submitted to Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is seeking candidates to fill three vacancies on the committee beginning in October 2016. Nominations are due Thursday, June 30.

The committee is seeking to fill the vacancies with men and women surgeons who are interested in advancing the role of women in the ACS and in encouraging and mentoring women in surgery. The committee encourages representation by individuals of diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following responsibilities:

• Serve an initial three-year term: 2016-2019

• Attend two in-person meetings annually – one during the ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, in the spring, and the other at the annual ACS Clinical Congress

• Participate in quarterly conference calls

• Actively serve on one subcommittee

• Contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with contributions they could offer the committee

• A five-page or shorter summary of their curriculum vitae

Nominations should be submitted to Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

For the second consecutive year, Becker’s Hospital Review has identified Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, as one of 50 experts leading the field of patient safety in the United States. Dr. Ko is Director, American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), and Director, ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care. He also is a colon and rectal surgeon and professor, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Robert and Kelly Day Chair in Surgical Outcomes, UCLA; and a research affiliate, RAND Corp.

The 2016 edition of the Becker’s Hospital Review list includes individuals at national organizations, universities, and health care systems who are working to improve patient safety. This fourth edition includes the names of advocates, professors, researchers, administrators, and health care providers who have won awards, published articles, spoken out, and led initiatives to reduce medical injuries and ensure patient safety. The Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team considered nominations and selected leaders through an editorial review process.

View the full list of recipients on the Becker’s Hospital Review website at http://goo.gl/srQVN3. Dr. Ko’s profile appears on the website at http://goo.gl/NMUUOz.

For the second consecutive year, Becker’s Hospital Review has identified Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, as one of 50 experts leading the field of patient safety in the United States. Dr. Ko is Director, American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), and Director, ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care. He also is a colon and rectal surgeon and professor, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Robert and Kelly Day Chair in Surgical Outcomes, UCLA; and a research affiliate, RAND Corp.

The 2016 edition of the Becker’s Hospital Review list includes individuals at national organizations, universities, and health care systems who are working to improve patient safety. This fourth edition includes the names of advocates, professors, researchers, administrators, and health care providers who have won awards, published articles, spoken out, and led initiatives to reduce medical injuries and ensure patient safety. The Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team considered nominations and selected leaders through an editorial review process.

View the full list of recipients on the Becker’s Hospital Review website at http://goo.gl/srQVN3. Dr. Ko’s profile appears on the website at http://goo.gl/NMUUOz.

For the second consecutive year, Becker’s Hospital Review has identified Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, as one of 50 experts leading the field of patient safety in the United States. Dr. Ko is Director, American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), and Director, ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care. He also is a colon and rectal surgeon and professor, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Robert and Kelly Day Chair in Surgical Outcomes, UCLA; and a research affiliate, RAND Corp.

The 2016 edition of the Becker’s Hospital Review list includes individuals at national organizations, universities, and health care systems who are working to improve patient safety. This fourth edition includes the names of advocates, professors, researchers, administrators, and health care providers who have won awards, published articles, spoken out, and led initiatives to reduce medical injuries and ensure patient safety. The Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team considered nominations and selected leaders through an editorial review process.

View the full list of recipients on the Becker’s Hospital Review website at http://goo.gl/srQVN3. Dr. Ko’s profile appears on the website at http://goo.gl/NMUUOz.

Nominations for candidates to fill two vacancies on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Diversity Issues are due Thursday, June 30, for assignments that will begin in October 2016.

The committee’s mission is to study the educational and professional needs of underrepresented surgeons and surgical trainees. In addition, committee members will study the impact that the committee’s work may have on the elimination of health care disparities among diverse population groups. Committee work will include developing proposals and sessions on diversity for the ACS Clinical Congress, and advancing tools and resources to enhance surgeons’ cultural competency.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following criteria:

• Serve an initial three-year term, 2016-2019

• Attend one in-person meeting at the ACS Clinical Congress and participate in regular committee conference calls

• Actively contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with a list of contributions they would offer the committee

• A summary of their curriculum vitae, in fewer than five pages

For additional information and to submit nominations, contact Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

Nominations for candidates to fill two vacancies on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Diversity Issues are due Thursday, June 30, for assignments that will begin in October 2016.

The committee’s mission is to study the educational and professional needs of underrepresented surgeons and surgical trainees. In addition, committee members will study the impact that the committee’s work may have on the elimination of health care disparities among diverse population groups. Committee work will include developing proposals and sessions on diversity for the ACS Clinical Congress, and advancing tools and resources to enhance surgeons’ cultural competency.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following criteria:

• Serve an initial three-year term, 2016-2019

• Attend one in-person meeting at the ACS Clinical Congress and participate in regular committee conference calls

• Actively contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with a list of contributions they would offer the committee

• A summary of their curriculum vitae, in fewer than five pages

For additional information and to submit nominations, contact Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

Nominations for candidates to fill two vacancies on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Diversity Issues are due Thursday, June 30, for assignments that will begin in October 2016.

The committee’s mission is to study the educational and professional needs of underrepresented surgeons and surgical trainees. In addition, committee members will study the impact that the committee’s work may have on the elimination of health care disparities among diverse population groups. Committee work will include developing proposals and sessions on diversity for the ACS Clinical Congress, and advancing tools and resources to enhance surgeons’ cultural competency.

Nominees must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows who are able to fulfill the following criteria:

• Serve an initial three-year term, 2016-2019

• Attend one in-person meeting at the ACS Clinical Congress and participate in regular committee conference calls

• Actively contribute to committee initiatives

Nominees should submit:

• A letter of interest highlighting their skills and expertise, along with a list of contributions they would offer the committee

• A summary of their curriculum vitae, in fewer than five pages

For additional information and to submit nominations, contact Connie Bura, Associate Director, ACS Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

Applications for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Mentorship Program for Women Surgeons are due Friday, July 15. Through this program early-career female surgeons develop a mentoring relationship with established surgeons representing all specialties of the ACS.

This year’s mentoring program, October 2016 through October 2017, will include up to 25 mentor/mentee pairs who must attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016, Oct. 16-20 in Washington, D.C. Applicants must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows, or in the process of applying for ACS Fellowship.

The committee also seeks qualified mentors. Visit the Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) webpage (https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities) to download the mentor or mentee application. All applicants will receive notification by Aug. 30 regarding their participation in the program.

Find more information about the WiSC on its webpage at https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities. Submit applications to Connie Bura, Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

Applications for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Mentorship Program for Women Surgeons are due Friday, July 15. Through this program early-career female surgeons develop a mentoring relationship with established surgeons representing all specialties of the ACS.

This year’s mentoring program, October 2016 through October 2017, will include up to 25 mentor/mentee pairs who must attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016, Oct. 16-20 in Washington, D.C. Applicants must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows, or in the process of applying for ACS Fellowship.

The committee also seeks qualified mentors. Visit the Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) webpage (https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities) to download the mentor or mentee application. All applicants will receive notification by Aug. 30 regarding their participation in the program.

Find more information about the WiSC on its webpage at https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities. Submit applications to Connie Bura, Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

Applications for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Mentorship Program for Women Surgeons are due Friday, July 15. Through this program early-career female surgeons develop a mentoring relationship with established surgeons representing all specialties of the ACS.

This year’s mentoring program, October 2016 through October 2017, will include up to 25 mentor/mentee pairs who must attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016, Oct. 16-20 in Washington, D.C. Applicants must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows, or in the process of applying for ACS Fellowship.

The committee also seeks qualified mentors. Visit the Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) webpage (https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities) to download the mentor or mentee application. All applicants will receive notification by Aug. 30 regarding their participation in the program.

Find more information about the WiSC on its webpage at https://www.facs.org/about-acs/governance/acs-committees/women-in-surgery-committee/activities. Submit applications to Connie Bura, Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is accepting nominations through Thursday, June 30, for a new annual award, the Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award. The award, which will be presented at Clinical Congress 2016, honors the work of Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) the first female surgeon employed by the U.S. Army and the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. Armed Forces decoration for bravery.

Nominees must be ACS members, either in active practice or retired, who meet the following requirements:

• A demonstrated commitment to the advancement and inspiration of women in surgery.

• Current WiSC members are ineligible for this award.

• The awardee is expected to attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016 in Washington, DC, to accept the award.

Nominations must include a letter of nomination outlining how the nominee has contributed to the advancement of women in surgery and the nominee’s current curriculum vitae. Self-nominations are acceptable and should include a letter of reference. E-mail all materials to Connie Bura, ACS Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org. Contact Ms. Bura for additional information.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is accepting nominations through Thursday, June 30, for a new annual award, the Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award. The award, which will be presented at Clinical Congress 2016, honors the work of Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) the first female surgeon employed by the U.S. Army and the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. Armed Forces decoration for bravery.

Nominees must be ACS members, either in active practice or retired, who meet the following requirements:

• A demonstrated commitment to the advancement and inspiration of women in surgery.

• Current WiSC members are ineligible for this award.

• The awardee is expected to attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016 in Washington, DC, to accept the award.

Nominations must include a letter of nomination outlining how the nominee has contributed to the advancement of women in surgery and the nominee’s current curriculum vitae. Self-nominations are acceptable and should include a letter of reference. E-mail all materials to Connie Bura, ACS Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org. Contact Ms. Bura for additional information.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Women in Surgery Committee (WiSC) is accepting nominations through Thursday, June 30, for a new annual award, the Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award. The award, which will be presented at Clinical Congress 2016, honors the work of Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) the first female surgeon employed by the U.S. Army and the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. Armed Forces decoration for bravery.

Nominees must be ACS members, either in active practice or retired, who meet the following requirements:

• A demonstrated commitment to the advancement and inspiration of women in surgery.

• Current WiSC members are ineligible for this award.

• The awardee is expected to attend the ACS Clinical Congress 2016 in Washington, DC, to accept the award.

Nominations must include a letter of nomination outlining how the nominee has contributed to the advancement of women in surgery and the nominee’s current curriculum vitae. Self-nominations are acceptable and should include a letter of reference. E-mail all materials to Connie Bura, ACS Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org. Contact Ms. Bura for additional information.

A total of 17 surgeons have been selected to serve as Health Policy Scholars and participate in the Leadership Program for Health Policy and Management, June 12-18 at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.

Each scholarship includes attendance at the weeklong intensive course, followed by a year’s service in a health policy–related capacity to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the surgical specialty society cosponsoring the awardee.

This year’s scholars are as follows:

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: Subhasis Misra, MB, BS, MS, FACS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Amarillo

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: SreyRam Kuy, MD, MHS, Louisiana State University, Shreveport

• ACS/American Association of Neurological Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Kimon Bekelis, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

• ACS/American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Alex J. McKinlay, MD, FACS, Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX

• ACS/American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Saman Arbabi, MD, FACS, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

• ACS/American Pediatric Surgery Association Health Policy Scholar: David P. Bliss Jr., MD, FACS, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX

• ACS/American Surgical Association Health Policy Scholar: Eileen M. Bulger, MD, FACS, University of Washington, Seattle

• ACS/American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Alyssa D. Throckmorton, MD, FACS, Baptist Medical Group, Nashville, TN

• ACS/American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Jose G. Guillem, MD, FACS, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

• ACS/American Society of Plastic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Malcolm Z. Roth, MD, FACS, Albany Medical Center, NY

• ACS/American Urogynecologic Society Health Policy Scholar: Mallika Anand, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group, Grand Rapids, MI

• ACS/American Urological Association Health Policy Scholar: Thomas Rechtschaffen, MD, FACS, Advanced Urology Centers of New York, Yonkers

• ACS/Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, FACS, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

• ACS/New England Society of Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Christopher S. Muratore, MD, FACS, Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence

• ACS/Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Health Policy Scholar: Guilherme Mussi Rocha Campos, MD, FACS, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

• ACS/The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Daniel T. Engelman, MD, FACS, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA

• ACS/Society for Vascular Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Matthew Jay Sideman, MD, FACS, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio

A total of 17 surgeons have been selected to serve as Health Policy Scholars and participate in the Leadership Program for Health Policy and Management, June 12-18 at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.

Each scholarship includes attendance at the weeklong intensive course, followed by a year’s service in a health policy–related capacity to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the surgical specialty society cosponsoring the awardee.

This year’s scholars are as follows:

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: Subhasis Misra, MB, BS, MS, FACS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Amarillo

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: SreyRam Kuy, MD, MHS, Louisiana State University, Shreveport

• ACS/American Association of Neurological Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Kimon Bekelis, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

• ACS/American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Alex J. McKinlay, MD, FACS, Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX

• ACS/American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Saman Arbabi, MD, FACS, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

• ACS/American Pediatric Surgery Association Health Policy Scholar: David P. Bliss Jr., MD, FACS, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX

• ACS/American Surgical Association Health Policy Scholar: Eileen M. Bulger, MD, FACS, University of Washington, Seattle

• ACS/American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Alyssa D. Throckmorton, MD, FACS, Baptist Medical Group, Nashville, TN

• ACS/American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Jose G. Guillem, MD, FACS, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

• ACS/American Society of Plastic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Malcolm Z. Roth, MD, FACS, Albany Medical Center, NY

• ACS/American Urogynecologic Society Health Policy Scholar: Mallika Anand, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group, Grand Rapids, MI

• ACS/American Urological Association Health Policy Scholar: Thomas Rechtschaffen, MD, FACS, Advanced Urology Centers of New York, Yonkers

• ACS/Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, FACS, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

• ACS/New England Society of Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Christopher S. Muratore, MD, FACS, Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence

• ACS/Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Health Policy Scholar: Guilherme Mussi Rocha Campos, MD, FACS, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

• ACS/The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Daniel T. Engelman, MD, FACS, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA

• ACS/Society for Vascular Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Matthew Jay Sideman, MD, FACS, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio

A total of 17 surgeons have been selected to serve as Health Policy Scholars and participate in the Leadership Program for Health Policy and Management, June 12-18 at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA.

Each scholarship includes attendance at the weeklong intensive course, followed by a year’s service in a health policy–related capacity to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the surgical specialty society cosponsoring the awardee.

This year’s scholars are as follows:

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: Subhasis Misra, MB, BS, MS, FACS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Amarillo

• ACS Health Policy Scholar for General Surgery: SreyRam Kuy, MD, MHS, Louisiana State University, Shreveport

• ACS/American Association of Neurological Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Kimon Bekelis, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

• ACS/American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Alex J. McKinlay, MD, FACS, Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX

• ACS/American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Saman Arbabi, MD, FACS, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

• ACS/American Pediatric Surgery Association Health Policy Scholar: David P. Bliss Jr., MD, FACS, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX

• ACS/American Surgical Association Health Policy Scholar: Eileen M. Bulger, MD, FACS, University of Washington, Seattle

• ACS/American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Alyssa D. Throckmorton, MD, FACS, Baptist Medical Group, Nashville, TN

• ACS/American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Jose G. Guillem, MD, FACS, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

• ACS/American Society of Plastic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Malcolm Z. Roth, MD, FACS, Albany Medical Center, NY

• ACS/American Urogynecologic Society Health Policy Scholar: Mallika Anand, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group, Grand Rapids, MI

• ACS/American Urological Association Health Policy Scholar: Thomas Rechtschaffen, MD, FACS, Advanced Urology Centers of New York, Yonkers

• ACS/Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Health Policy Scholar: Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, FACS, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

• ACS/New England Society of Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Christopher S. Muratore, MD, FACS, Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence

• ACS/Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Health Policy Scholar: Guilherme Mussi Rocha Campos, MD, FACS, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

• ACS/The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Health Policy Scholar: Daniel T. Engelman, MD, FACS, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA

• ACS/Society for Vascular Surgery Health Policy Scholar: Matthew Jay Sideman, MD, FACS, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is pleased to offer the George H. A. Clowes, Jr., MD, FACS, Memorial Research Career Development Award for 2017—made possible through the generosity of The Clowes Fund, Inc., of Indianapolis, IN. This award, consisting of a stipend of $45,000 for each of five years that is non-renewable thereafter, supports the research of a promising young surgical investigator. The closing date for receipt of completed 2017 applications and all related documents is August 1, 2016.

The criteria for selection of the recipient of this award are as follows:

• The award is restricted to a Fellow or an Associate Fellow of the ACS who has completed an accredited residency in general surgery within the last seven years (exclusive of time off for maternity leave, military deployment, or medical leave) and has received a full-time faculty appointment at a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in the U.S. or by the Committee for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools in Canada. The applicant’s academic appointment may not be above the level of assistant professor. Applicants should provide evidence (by publication or otherwise) of productive initial efforts in laboratory research.

• The award may be used for salary support or other purposes at the discretion of the recipient and the institution. Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or to the recipient’s institution.

• The ACS Scholarships Committee will not consider applicants who have already received research career development awards from professional societies. The committee will give preference to applicants who have received or are working toward a K08 or K23 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The recipient is responsible for notifying the College’s Scholarships Administrator and requesting approval of funding from another source.

• The administrator (dean or fiscal officer) and the head of the applicant’s department or administrative unit must approve the application. This approval must include a commitment to continuation of the academic position and facilities for research throughout the period of the award. In addition, the approval should specify that at least 50 percent of the applicant’s time will be spent conducting the research proposed in the application. This percentage may run concurrently with the time requirements of NIH or other accepted funding.

• The applicant must submit, in addition to the application form, an NIH-style biosketch, a detailed research plan of up to eight pages in length, and a proposed budget for the five-year period of the award. The applicant also is required to submit a cover letter of no more than one page describing his or her career objectives, how these career objectives will be achieved, and how the research protocol furthers the applicant’s career development. The ACS Scholarships Committee requires an annual written narrative and financial progress report from the recipient; annual renewal will be based on these reports.

• While holding the award, the recipient is required to attend the Clinical Congress of the ACS; the 2017 recipient will be expected to attend the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Clinical Congresses and present reports to the Scholarships Committee and its guests.

• Upon completion of the five-year funding period, the recipient will be required to submit a final narrative report summarizing research progress and providing information regarding current academic rank, sources of research support, and future plans. The recipient also is required to apply to the Scientific Forum at the conclusion of the award period.

The application form must be completed online and may be posted on the ACS website at facs.org/member-services/scholarships/research/acsclowes. Contact the Scholarships Administrator at scholarships@facs.org for additional information.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is pleased to offer the George H. A. Clowes, Jr., MD, FACS, Memorial Research Career Development Award for 2017—made possible through the generosity of The Clowes Fund, Inc., of Indianapolis, IN. This award, consisting of a stipend of $45,000 for each of five years that is non-renewable thereafter, supports the research of a promising young surgical investigator. The closing date for receipt of completed 2017 applications and all related documents is August 1, 2016.

The criteria for selection of the recipient of this award are as follows:

• The award is restricted to a Fellow or an Associate Fellow of the ACS who has completed an accredited residency in general surgery within the last seven years (exclusive of time off for maternity leave, military deployment, or medical leave) and has received a full-time faculty appointment at a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in the U.S. or by the Committee for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools in Canada. The applicant’s academic appointment may not be above the level of assistant professor. Applicants should provide evidence (by publication or otherwise) of productive initial efforts in laboratory research.

• The award may be used for salary support or other purposes at the discretion of the recipient and the institution. Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or to the recipient’s institution.

• The ACS Scholarships Committee will not consider applicants who have already received research career development awards from professional societies. The committee will give preference to applicants who have received or are working toward a K08 or K23 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The recipient is responsible for notifying the College’s Scholarships Administrator and requesting approval of funding from another source.

• The administrator (dean or fiscal officer) and the head of the applicant’s department or administrative unit must approve the application. This approval must include a commitment to continuation of the academic position and facilities for research throughout the period of the award. In addition, the approval should specify that at least 50 percent of the applicant’s time will be spent conducting the research proposed in the application. This percentage may run concurrently with the time requirements of NIH or other accepted funding.

• The applicant must submit, in addition to the application form, an NIH-style biosketch, a detailed research plan of up to eight pages in length, and a proposed budget for the five-year period of the award. The applicant also is required to submit a cover letter of no more than one page describing his or her career objectives, how these career objectives will be achieved, and how the research protocol furthers the applicant’s career development. The ACS Scholarships Committee requires an annual written narrative and financial progress report from the recipient; annual renewal will be based on these reports.

• While holding the award, the recipient is required to attend the Clinical Congress of the ACS; the 2017 recipient will be expected to attend the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Clinical Congresses and present reports to the Scholarships Committee and its guests.

• Upon completion of the five-year funding period, the recipient will be required to submit a final narrative report summarizing research progress and providing information regarding current academic rank, sources of research support, and future plans. The recipient also is required to apply to the Scientific Forum at the conclusion of the award period.

The application form must be completed online and may be posted on the ACS website at facs.org/member-services/scholarships/research/acsclowes. Contact the Scholarships Administrator at scholarships@facs.org for additional information.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is pleased to offer the George H. A. Clowes, Jr., MD, FACS, Memorial Research Career Development Award for 2017—made possible through the generosity of The Clowes Fund, Inc., of Indianapolis, IN. This award, consisting of a stipend of $45,000 for each of five years that is non-renewable thereafter, supports the research of a promising young surgical investigator. The closing date for receipt of completed 2017 applications and all related documents is August 1, 2016.

The criteria for selection of the recipient of this award are as follows:

• The award is restricted to a Fellow or an Associate Fellow of the ACS who has completed an accredited residency in general surgery within the last seven years (exclusive of time off for maternity leave, military deployment, or medical leave) and has received a full-time faculty appointment at a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in the U.S. or by the Committee for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools in Canada. The applicant’s academic appointment may not be above the level of assistant professor. Applicants should provide evidence (by publication or otherwise) of productive initial efforts in laboratory research.

• The award may be used for salary support or other purposes at the discretion of the recipient and the institution. Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or to the recipient’s institution.

• The ACS Scholarships Committee will not consider applicants who have already received research career development awards from professional societies. The committee will give preference to applicants who have received or are working toward a K08 or K23 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The recipient is responsible for notifying the College’s Scholarships Administrator and requesting approval of funding from another source.

• The administrator (dean or fiscal officer) and the head of the applicant’s department or administrative unit must approve the application. This approval must include a commitment to continuation of the academic position and facilities for research throughout the period of the award. In addition, the approval should specify that at least 50 percent of the applicant’s time will be spent conducting the research proposed in the application. This percentage may run concurrently with the time requirements of NIH or other accepted funding.

• The applicant must submit, in addition to the application form, an NIH-style biosketch, a detailed research plan of up to eight pages in length, and a proposed budget for the five-year period of the award. The applicant also is required to submit a cover letter of no more than one page describing his or her career objectives, how these career objectives will be achieved, and how the research protocol furthers the applicant’s career development. The ACS Scholarships Committee requires an annual written narrative and financial progress report from the recipient; annual renewal will be based on these reports.

• While holding the award, the recipient is required to attend the Clinical Congress of the ACS; the 2017 recipient will be expected to attend the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Clinical Congresses and present reports to the Scholarships Committee and its guests.

• Upon completion of the five-year funding period, the recipient will be required to submit a final narrative report summarizing research progress and providing information regarding current academic rank, sources of research support, and future plans. The recipient also is required to apply to the Scientific Forum at the conclusion of the award period.

The application form must be completed online and may be posted on the ACS website at facs.org/member-services/scholarships/research/acsclowes. Contact the Scholarships Administrator at scholarships@facs.org for additional information.

Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, FACS, vice-chancellor for human health sciences; dean, University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine; and Past-Chair, American College of Surgeons Board of Regents, and former President of the Society for Vascular Surgery was inducted into the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) on April 22.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Freischlag has led education and training programs at medical schools in her role as professor and chair of surgery and vascular surgery departments. Dr. Freischlag also has more than 25 years of experience leading patient care services as chief of surgery or vascular surgery.

Dr. Freischlag currently oversees UC Davis Health System’s academic, research, and clinical programs, including the School of Medicine, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, the 1,000-member physician practice group, and UC Davis Medical Center, a 619-bed acute care hospital. Before joining UC Davis, she served as professor and chair, surgery department, and surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. At Johns Hopkins, she led initiatives to expand research, add specialty clinical services, improve patient-centered care and patient safety, redesign the surgical training program, and enhance academic career paths for faculty.

Established in 1505, the RCSEd is among the world’s oldest surgical organizations, and admittance into its fellowship is based on professional prominence. With a worldwide membership, the RCSEd pursues excellence and advancement in surgical and dental practice via education, training, and examinations.

Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, FACS, vice-chancellor for human health sciences; dean, University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine; and Past-Chair, American College of Surgeons Board of Regents, and former President of the Society for Vascular Surgery was inducted into the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) on April 22.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Freischlag has led education and training programs at medical schools in her role as professor and chair of surgery and vascular surgery departments. Dr. Freischlag also has more than 25 years of experience leading patient care services as chief of surgery or vascular surgery.

Dr. Freischlag currently oversees UC Davis Health System’s academic, research, and clinical programs, including the School of Medicine, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, the 1,000-member physician practice group, and UC Davis Medical Center, a 619-bed acute care hospital. Before joining UC Davis, she served as professor and chair, surgery department, and surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. At Johns Hopkins, she led initiatives to expand research, add specialty clinical services, improve patient-centered care and patient safety, redesign the surgical training program, and enhance academic career paths for faculty.

Established in 1505, the RCSEd is among the world’s oldest surgical organizations, and admittance into its fellowship is based on professional prominence. With a worldwide membership, the RCSEd pursues excellence and advancement in surgical and dental practice via education, training, and examinations.

Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, FACS, vice-chancellor for human health sciences; dean, University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine; and Past-Chair, American College of Surgeons Board of Regents, and former President of the Society for Vascular Surgery was inducted into the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) on April 22.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Freischlag has led education and training programs at medical schools in her role as professor and chair of surgery and vascular surgery departments. Dr. Freischlag also has more than 25 years of experience leading patient care services as chief of surgery or vascular surgery.

Dr. Freischlag currently oversees UC Davis Health System’s academic, research, and clinical programs, including the School of Medicine, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, the 1,000-member physician practice group, and UC Davis Medical Center, a 619-bed acute care hospital. Before joining UC Davis, she served as professor and chair, surgery department, and surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. At Johns Hopkins, she led initiatives to expand research, add specialty clinical services, improve patient-centered care and patient safety, redesign the surgical training program, and enhance academic career paths for faculty.

Established in 1505, the RCSEd is among the world’s oldest surgical organizations, and admittance into its fellowship is based on professional prominence. With a worldwide membership, the RCSEd pursues excellence and advancement in surgical and dental practice via education, training, and examinations.