American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Conference

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's at ASPHO 2018

Physicians from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center will showcase their advances at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology (ASPHO).

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Leadership at ASPHO

ASPHO President: Amy Billett, MD
Trustee at-large: Akiko Shimamura, MD PhD
Conference Planning Committee Chair: Denise M. Adams, MD

Schedule of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Presentations

Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s physicians will be presenting at ASPHO.

View the schedule of speakers

Learn more about our innovations and clinical trials below:

Recent Advances in Gene Therapy at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's

Sickle Cell Gene Therapy Clinical Trial Enrolling Patients

The sickle cell gene therapy clinical trial will involve a single infusion of autologous bone marrow-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) cells transduced with a lentiviral vector containing a micro RNA-embedded short-hairpin RNA targeting BCL11A. This gene therapy technology is distinct in that it both turns off the sickle hemoglobin expression and turns on fetal hemoglobin production.

Gene Therapy is Effective in Treating Cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD)

One of our novel gene therapies has effectively stabilized cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) in 15 out of 17 patients who participated in a recent clinical trial. The first results of this trial were published in October 2017 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

CAR T-Cell Therapy for Relapsed ALL

As one of the top pediatric cancer centers in the country, we are a certified treatment center providing the FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy called KYMRIAH to patients who are up to 25 years old with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Evaluating the Promise of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Treating DIPG

Carl Novina, MD, PhD, is leading efforts to develop an enhanced CAR T-cell therapy that would leverage a novel small molecule to destroy tough-to-treat cancers, like diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), with less off-target side effects.

Cancer Research Highlights

Cancer researchers hit a bullseye with a new drug target for Ewing sarcoma

Led by Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's have found that CDK12 inhibitors pack a particularly lethal punch to Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer typically affecting children and young adults. These findings were recently published in Cancer Cell.

Zeroing in on the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch and a new way to combat sickle cell disease

Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s researchers, led by Stuart Orkin, MD, have revealed how BCL11A controls the switch in the body’s production of fetal hemoglobin to adult hemoglobin, which could lead to another strategy to cure sickle cell disease.