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This section is specifically directed to physicians who have WM patients. Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia is a rare and unique disease and many oncologists and hematologists may never have encountered this type of blood cancer. We know that cancer professionals are extremely busy, so we have tried to streamline this section by priority. We hope you will use this information before deciding on a treatment protocol for your patients. If there is any other way the Foundation can assist you in this challenge, please let us know. We want to help.
There is a tremendous amount of basic research into WM underway and 50-70 clinical trials at any time. Research is especially focused at the Mayo Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Karmanos Cancer Clinic at Wayne State, and elsewhere. New results, treatments and pharmaceutical protocols are announced almost monthly and therapeutic opportunities change rapidly.
The purpose of this section is to assist you in learning more about diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of WM and lead you to additional professional resources.
1. The best place for you to start is with a small booklet by Dr. Morie Gertz, Mayo Clinic, "WM, a Review of Therapy." This is a technical document, revised in 2008, by one of the most knowledgeable physicians in the treatment of WM. It is available from the IWMF by calling the office at 941-927-4963, or you may request it by email at info@iwmf.com.
2. At the same time, we recommend you subscribe to the Physicians' WM Mailing List, a special list maintained for medical professionals, which includes the Foundation's newsletter (the Torch), special bulletins, research results, clinical trials, and other information especially of interest to professionals treating WM patients or engaged in WM related medical research. (The physicians' mailing list is guaranteed spam-free and is never exchanged or given to others. Mailings are occasional and not by schedule other than newsletters and bulletins).
3. The Physicians' Information Package (InfoPak) includes the above plus a sampling of publications for patients and brochures for your office. You may request it by calling or emailing the office.
4. For consulting assistance on WM issues, we highly recommend that you contact one of the following noted researchers in the field who have agreed to take calls in this regard:
* Robert A. Kyle, MD (Mayo Clinic, Minnesota)
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, Minnesota
General Mayo phone number: (507) 284-2511
email: kyle.robert@mayo.edu
* Morie A. Gertz, MD (Mayo Clinic, Minnesota)
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, Minnesota
General Mayo phone number: (507) 284-2511
email: gertz.morie@mayo.edu
* Steven P. Treon, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
44 Binney Street
Mayer 548B
Boston, MA 02115
Office phone: (617) 632-2681
Fax: (617) 632-4862
E-mail: steven_treon@dfci.harvard.edu
Web: http://www.stevenptreon.com
International Workshop on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia
IWMF is committed to the effective dissemination of information on WM to medical professionals. In 2000, IWMF and the NCI sponsored the first Workshop on WM, held in Bethesda, Maryland. In September of 2002, IWMF and others sponsored the second International Conference on WM in Athens, Greece, where the invitees included the top WM researchers in the world. Papers presented at this conference have been published in Seminars in Oncology, Vol. 30, No. 2, April, 2003. The Third International Conference was held in Paris, France in October, 2004. Papers presented at this conference have been published in Clinical Lymphoma, Vol 5, No 4, March, 2005. The reports from both Athens and Paris are combined in a booklet published by IWMF entitled "Reports from the Second and Third International Workshops on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia."
Since then, a website has been developed for the Workshop, and conferences have continued to be held on an annual or biennial basis. Below is a link to a recent publication from the 4th International Workshop regarding treatment recommendations for WM:
Updates on Treatment Recommendations from the 4th International Workshop on WM (June 2007), Dimopolous, Gertz, Kyle, Treon, Ghobrial, Kastritis, et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2008 0: JCO.2008.17.7865. Dec 2008. Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved. ASCO online resource for cancer patients and survivors can be found at http://www.cancer.net.
Thank you for your professional interest. If there is any other way we can help, please let us know.
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