XVII Raisa Gorbacheva Memorial Meeting Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Gene and Cellular Therapy

Special session was dedicated to current applications of allogeneic HCT in acute leukemias, especially, acute myeloid leukemia in children and older patients, combined treatment including pre- and posttransplant therapy with targeted drugs in AML and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The aspects of malignant lymphomas were discussed in view of novel targeted medications and immune checkpoint inhibitors, along with transplant-based regimens used in Hodgkin lymphoma and other lymphoproliferative diseases. Special attention was drawn to the issues of innovative therapy in multiple myeloma and related conditions. Moreover, chronic myeloid malignancies and changing role of HCT in view of emerging targeted drugs were also discussed at a special session. Some reports concerned different options for HCT in non-malignant disorders, e.g., aplastic anemias, inherited immune deficiencies as well as autoimmune diseases, i.e., multiple sclerosis. Special attention was given to specific features of conditioning regimens in these disorders.

Some modern issues of cell therapy and, especially, clinical implications of CAR-T cell development and usage in lymphoid malignancies were extensively discussed at the session Cell and Gene Therapy. The state of art in CAR-T cell therapy was presented by Russian and Chinese specialists. Special reports and discussions concerned different regulatory and legal aspects of CAR-T and other medicinal cell products in Russia and abroad. Over last year, the newly developed genetically modified cell products were designed to generate T cell regulatory cells and NK cells for clinical usage, e.g., for treatment of immune complications of HCT. A special session was devoted to cellular therapy of solid tumors showing sufficient advances in this controversial topic. Several reports concerned development and preclinical studies of some gene constructs for the therapy of rare inherited diseases.

Urgent clinical issues of pediatric oncology were discussed. The speakers discussed last advances in HCT strategy in pediatric leukemias and lymphomas, disseminated pediatric malignancies (neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma etc.). Pediatric aspects dominated at the quite interesting session which hosted specialists in medical rehabilitation of the patients treated for different malignancies. Most speakers discussed post-transplant rehabilitation in children, with respect to physical therapy, psychological problems of patients during cytostatic therapy and in HCT survivors. Most authors highlighted multidisciplinary relations in rehabilitation programs including parents, caregivers, medical nurses and doctors of different profiles. These issues have been also discussed at the Nursing Care Session in view of special requirements at the clinics of Oncohematology and Pediatric Oncology. The nurses reported on their own experience in the intensive care units, feeding and medical procedures at the transplant units. Different aspects of transfusion medicine, especially, for bone marrow transplantation at appropriate blood banks and donor registries were focused, mostly, on improvement of recruiting and typing of donors for pediatric patients and young adults.

Hence, our Symposium continues to be a representative forum in the field of HCT, cellular and gene therapy, treatment of post-transplant complications thus improving clinical outcomes. The Symposium collected hematologists, oncologists, transfusiologists, specialists in laboratory diagnostics, clinical rehabilitation as well as members of charity foundations, thus stressing their role in multidisciplinary transplant teams.

We are much grateful to Russian and foreign experts in clinical and experimental hematology who shared their recent results in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, gene and cell therapy and related areas of science. This Supplement to Cellular Therapy and Transplantation presents abstracts of many reports presented at the XVII Raisa Gorbacheva Memorial Meeting.