Statement of Need

A variety of promising immunotherapies for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including idiotypic vaccines, have recently been developed. These novel immunotherapies have produced long-lived, tumor-specific immune responses. Lymphoma vaccines have also demonstrated encouraging results in single-institution studies; responding patients have demonstrated superior overall and event-free survival rates compared with historical controls. Phase III randomized trials of idiotype vaccines are currently under way, and novel vaccine approaches are being used. This activity will update physicians on recent advances in the use of vaccine therapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Target Audience

This activity is designed for medical oncologists and other physicians involved in the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies.

Educational Objectives

After participating in this educational activity, physicians should be able to:

 

 

Describe the rationale for the use of vaccines in the treatment of NHL and the methods used to develop individualized vaccines.

Assess the ongoing clinical trials of idiotype vaccines in patients with indolent lymphoma.

Describe the results from recent clinical trials utilizing active immunotherapy for low-grade NHL during the watch-and-wait period.

Discuss potential future applications for active immunotherapy in the treatment of human malignancies.

Chairperson

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Oncology
Stanford University School of Medicine

 

Faculty

Larry Kwak, MD, PhD
Chairman, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma
Moshe Talpaz Chair in Immunology
Associate Director, Center for Cancer Immunology Research
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

 

John Timmerman, MD
Assistant Professor
Medicine, Hematology/Oncology
University of California, Los Angeles

 

John Leonard, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Weill Medical College
of Cornell University

 

Wyndham Wilson, MD, PhD
Head, Lymphoma Therapeutics Section
Senior Principal Investigator
National Cancer Institute

Accreditation Statement

The CBCE™ (The Center for Biomedical Continuing Education) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation Statement

The CBCE designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3.0 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.

 

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Certificate

Participants who submit an Evaluation and CME Request for Credit Form will receive their CME certificate 4 weeks after the activity.

 

Acknowledgement of Commercial Support

The CBCE gratefully acknowledges the educational grant provided by Genitope Corporation.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Uses

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. For additional information about approved uses, including approved indications, contraindications, and warnings, please refer to the prescribing information for each product, or consult the Physician's Desk Reference. This activity contains discussion of investigational uses of the following agents:

 

Larry W. Kwak, MD, PhD: Id-KLH
John Leonard, MD: Bortezomib, Id-KLH, rituximab
Ronald Levy, MD: Id-KLH, rituximab
John Timmerman, MD: Id-KLH
Wyndham Wilson, MD, PhD: Id-KLH, rituximab

Disclaimer

The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of the CBCE or the commercial supporter, Genitope Corporation. This material has been prepared based on a review of multiple sources of information, but is not exhaustive of the subject matter. Participants are advised to appraise the information presented critically and are encouraged to consult the above-mentioned resources as well as available literature on any product or device mentioned in this program.

Disclosure of Financial Relationships With Any Commercial Interest

As a sponsor accredited by the ACCME, it is the policy of the CBCE to require that everyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest and identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to the educational activity. The ACCME defines "relevant financial relationships" as any amount occurring within the past 12 months.

 

Financial relationships are those relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (eg, stocks, stock options, or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities for which remuneration is received or expected. ACCME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner.

 

Faculty who refuse to disclose relevant financial relationships will be disqualified from being a Planning Committee Member, a teacher, or an author of CME, and cannot have control of, or responsibility for, the development, management, presentation, or evaluation of the CME activity. For an individual with no relevant financial relationship(s), the participants must be informed that no relevant financial relationship(s) exist.

 

The following speakers have declared relevant financial relationships:

 

Name Nature of Financial Relationship Commercial Interest

Larry W. Kwak, MD, PhD: Consultant for Accentia BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. and Antigenics Inc.

John Timmerman, MD: Ownership Interest in Genentech, Inc. and IDEC Pharmaceutical Corporation.

 

The following speakers have declared that they have no relevant financial relationships that require disclosure:

Ronald Levy, MD

Wyndham H. Wilson, MD, PhD

 

Institutional Disclosure

The CBCE receives educational grants from the pharmaceutical industry and other commercial sources. Companies providing grants to the CBCE include the commercial supporter(s) of this activity as well as the manufacturer(s) of certain drugs and/or devices discussed in this activity.

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

 

The CBCE assesses conflicts of interest with its faculty, planners, and managers of CME activities. Identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly evaluated by the CME Planning Committee for fair balance, scientific objectivity relative to studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. The CBCE is committed to providing its learners with high-quality, unbiased, and state-of-the-art education.

 

The following faculty have reported real or apparent conflicts of interest, and these conflicts have been resolved through a peer-review process:

None

The following planners and managers have reported no real or apparent conflicts of interest:

Ronald Levy, MD

In addition, the CBCE reports the following relationships with commercial interests associated with this activity:

Receipt of an educational grant from Genitope Corporation

CME Inquiries

For further information, please contact the CBCE, 1707 Market Place Blvd., Suite 370, Irving, Texas 75063; Telephone: (214) 260-9024; Fax: (214) 260-0509.