Awards for two outstanding leukemia specialists

Copenhagen, 13 June 2008 – At this year's gathering of the European Hematology Association, two outstanding physicians are to be honored. They are Professor Dieter Hoelzer of Germany, who receives the EHA Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award, the first time the award has been bestowed, and Professor John Goldman of the United Kingdom, who receives the annual EHA José Carreras Award.

A Lifetime of Achievement

Professor Hoelzer, head of the Institute for Hematology at the University of Frankfurt am Main, has played an important part in some of the most significant advances in hematology in recent decades. He set up a cross-German study group that involved more than a 100 hospitals to examine therapies and their effectiveness in the treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), at a time when the disease had a cure rate of less than 10%. The study group has contributed to substantial improvements in the diagnosis of ALL and the development of targeted, individualized therapies. Individualized therapy for ALL is very important as 95% of people with the disease show an individual pattern in their leukemic cells. This individualized approach, in which Professor Hoelzer has played a pivotal role, has meant that today cure rates for ALL have improved to 50%.

Professor Hoelzer has also been a key figure in the founding of the EHA and served as President from 2001 to 2003.

Restoring Normal Lifespan

Professor John Goldman of Imperial College London in the UK has played an important role in one of the major success stories in leukemia therapy. His work has contributed to the fact that sufferers of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), one of the four most common types of leukemia, can today hope to live out their normal lifespan.Professor Goldman was a pioneer in the use of bone marrow transplants in the treatment of CML, a therapy that became standard for two decades. In the late 1990s, new drugs were developed, called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which work to block the effects of the genetic changes which cause CML. Under Professor Goldman's direction, new technologies were developed to detect residual levels of CML, an advance that has been vital to appropriate use of the new drug regimens.

Contact

B&K Medien- und Kommunikationsberatung GmbH
Dr. Birgit Kofler; Daniela Pedross, MA.
Porzellangasse 35/Top 3, A-1090 Vienna
Press Office: Phone during the Congress: 0045-32 47 21 03
Phone after the Congress: 0043-1-319 43 78-11
E-Mail: kofler@bkkommunikation.com ; pedross@bkkommunikation.com

About EHA

The European Hematology Association (EHA) aims to promote excellence in clinical practice, research and education in European hematology.

Today, EHA – with over 2700 active members from 95 countries – directs a large and growing number of projects and programs. An Executive Board and Councilors elected by the membership form the governmental body responsible for the strategy and organization of the Association.

About the EHA Annual Congress

The EHA annual congress is held every June in a major European city. Over the years the congress has become the meeting place for hematologists in all fields of the specialty. The congress program has sessions on clinical and laboratory hematology and covers all the major hematological subspecialties, including hemato-oncology, red cell disorders, hemostasis, thrombosis, pediatric hematology and transfusion medicine.