Miami Cancer Institute Hosting Third Annual Blood Cancer Summit

This April, some of the nation’s top blood cancer experts are expected to gather in Miami for the third annual Miami Cancer Institute Summit of Americas on Immunotherapies for Hematologic Malignancies. Hosting the one-and-a-half-day symposium will be Guenther Koehne, M.D., deputy director of Miami Cancer Institute and chief of Blood & Marrow Transplant and Hematologic Oncology.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 186,400 people are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers this year. Thousands more are already in treatment. But great strides have been made in research and treatment of these diseases in recent years, Dr. Koehne says.

“The speed at which the field is advancing is very encouraging,” says Dr. Koehne. “But to maintain our forward progress we must not do our research in silos. We must share so that we can build upon what we have learned.”

Dr. Koehne says the symposium, to be held April 8-9, is returning to an in-person program after being forced to go virtual last year. “We will have physicians from Miami Cancer Institute and other leading institutions around the country, including Memorial Sloan Kettering, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and MD Anderson Cancer Center,” he notes. Approximately 300 physicians and other healthcare providers attended last year’s virtual Summit, Dr. Koehne adds.

During the symposium, oncologists will discuss advances in immunologically and molecular based system therapies; new-targeted diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia; the role and timing of hematopoietic cell transplantation, and the latest on CAR – T cell therapies. Dr. Koehne says he will share his research and Miami Cancer Institute’s experience.

“Treatments are becoming more sophisticated and every day we are learning more about how to target treatment to the individual,” says Dr. Koehne. “By discussing the most recent research, we move science forward, ultimately offering more options to patients and improving their outcomes.”

Miami Cancer Institute’s Blood and Marrow Transplantation program was launched in July 2019 and hit the 100-patient milestone in just 18 months, according to Dr. Koehne. He says the program now has 39 private rooms on the Baptist Hospital campus, adjacent to the Institute, for bone marrow and immunotherapy patients who face lengthy hospital stays because of their compromised immune systems. The spacious accommodations include a refrigerator, microwave, large bathroom and even room to exercise, he adds.