Several advancements in research and drug approvals have changed the landscape of care for optimal treatment in patients with lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma. With a mounting number of clinical trials underway, coupled with approvals of new drugs and indications for existing therapies, clinicians have much to consider in integrating these discoveries into clinical practice.

The 16th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies: Focus on Leukemias, Lymphomas, and Myeloma is designed to bring together clinicians and researchers to discuss the latest developments. The annual conference will be held at the Cliff Lodge Conference Center in Snowbird, Utah, February 23–26, 2012.

Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, chief of Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, has participated in the conference for more than a decade and will again serve as the program director.

“The conference will cover a broad range of topics that are very relevant to both those in practicing clinics—those who are seeing patients day to day and guiding their treatment—and those in research, who will get the latest information on a number of cutting-edge topics,” Zelenetz said.

The conference is expected to attract hematologic specialists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists. Other healthcare professionals, including nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and physician assistants, also have attended in the past.

The conference is divided into dedicated sessions for lymphoma, myeloma, and leukemia. Each day includes debate sessions for more controversial topics, such as whether imatinib (Gleevec) should be used as an initial treatment in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia and how important JAK2 inhibitors will be in treating patients with myelofibrosis.

Several new drugs and therapies have been approved and continue to be studied for hematologic malignancies. There are planned discussions on topics such as FLT3 inhibition in acute myeloid leukemia, new antifungal prophylactic agents, and the use of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) for CD30-positive lymphomas.

“There are a lot of interesting areas of research being worked on right now that will be covered at the conference,” Zelenetz said. “We have planned discussions on novel monoclonal antibodies, and we’ll also tackle epigenetic manipulation of the genome.”