Ensuring Transfusion Safety for Multiple Myeloma Patients Receiving Anti-CD38 Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

This CME activity is jointly provided by the University of Cincinnati and RedMedEd. The AABB is a participating party in program planning only.

Support for this activity has been provided through an educational grant from Janssen Biotech, Inc., administered by Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC.

Release date: 1/10/2017

Expiration date:  1/10/2018

Estimated time to complete: 0.75 hours

Overview

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy has shown promise for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (MM), a discovery leading to the FDA’s 2015 approval of two mAbs, elotuzumab (anti-SLAMF7) and daratumumab (anti-CD38), for use in relapsed MM patients. This marks the first approved use of mAbs in MM treatment—and brings new challenges for clinicians who manage patients with MM.

It was recently observed that use of anti-CD38 mAb therapy in MM patients yielded false-positives in routine blood compatibility tests (panreactivity), producing interference that complicates pretransfusion testing and potentially delays the transfusion of appropriate blood products. Several approaches to mitigating this interference have been investigated, as has the use of phenotyping and genotyping to facilitate accurate crossmatching of antigen-matched donor RBCs for patients receiving anti-CD38 mAb therapy. However, many institutions do not yet have procedures in place to inform transfusion services when a patient is scheduled to begin taking anti-CD38 mAb therapy, an omission that can lead to delays in issuing RBC units to patients.

Faculty

Richard Kaufman, MD—Program Chair
Associate Professor of Pathology
Harvard Medical School
Medical Director, Adult Transfusion Service
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts

Target Audience

This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of medical directors, laboratory supervisors and administrators, transfusion specialists, cellular therapy and blood banking professionals, medical technologists, hematologists, hematologist-oncologists, medical oncologists, and nurses.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the mechanism by which anti-CD38 mAbs interfere with blood compatibility testing
  • Evaluate specific methodologies that can overcome the blood compatibility testing interference caused by anti-CD38 mAbs
  • Improve communication between oncologists and blood bankers to minimize the delay in issuing RBC units to patients receiving anti-CD38 mAb therapy

Accreditation and Credit Designation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Cincinnati and RedMedEd. The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Cincinnati designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure

According to the disclosure policy of the University of Cincinnati, all faculty, planning committee members, and other individuals who are in a position to control content are required to disclose any relevant relationships with any commercial interests related to this activity. The existence of these interests or relationships is not viewed as implying bias or decreasing the value of the presentation. All educational materials are reviewed for fair balance, scientific objectivity and levels of evidence.

Disclosures are as follows:

Richard Kaufman, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Advisory Board: Janssen
Consultant: Janssen
Grant Recipient: Janssen

Disclosure information for the Program Committee appears below:

Claudia S. Cohn, MD, PhD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Advisory Board: Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics
Grant Recipient: Cerus Corporations, Octapharma
Speakers Bureau: Fenwal

Meghan Delaney, DO, MPH, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Advisory Board: Janssen
Consultant: Sio Capital Management, LLC

Mark K. Fung, MD, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Connie M. Westhoff, SBB, PhD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Advisory Board: Cerus Corporation, Janssen, Quotient BioScience
Consultant: Janssen
Speakers Bureau: Immucor

University of Cincinnati
Deborah Cole, Program Coordinator, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Rick E. Ricer, MD, Professor Emeritus, UC Physician Reviewer, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Susan P. Tyler, MEd, CMP, CHCP, CME Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

RedMedEd
Denise C. LaTemple, PhD, Director of Scientific Services, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Jonathan S. Simmons, ELS, Senior Managing Editor, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Karen Smith, Creative Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Karen Tenaglia, Program Manager, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Barbara Zosh, Operations Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Unapproved Product Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration. The University of Cincinnati, RedMedEd, and Janssen Biotech, Inc., do not recommend the use of any agent outside the labeled indications. Faculty members are required to inform the audience when they are discussing off-label, unapproved uses of devices and drugs.

Disclaimer

The information presented in this activity is for continuing medical education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician regarding diagnosis and treatment of a specific patient’s medical condition.

The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Cincinnati, RedMedEd, or Janssen Biotech, Inc. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Method of Participation

There are no fees to participate in the activity. Participants must review all activity information, including the learning objectives, disclosure statements, and content. To receive CME credit for participation, participants must complete the posttest (achieving a passing grade of 80% or greater) and program evaluation. Certificates can be printed immediately.

Contact Information

Accreditation Support: Contact the University of Cincinnati Continuing Medical Education Department at uccme@uc.edu or call (513) 558-7277.

Technical Support: For technical questions related to this activity or issues with your CME certificate, please contact RedMedEd at (610) 251-6841 or education@redmeded.com.

Hardware/Software Requirements

  • Apple iPad or iPad mini (iOS 7 or higher) with an Internet connection
  • A computer with an Internet connection
    • Internet browser: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9 or higher, Firefox 26 or higher, or Safari 5 or higher
    • Additional software: Adobe Flash Player and/or an HTML 5-capable browser is required for video or audio playback; Adobe Acrobat Reader may occasionally be required

Privacy

This website is managed by RedMedEd, and RedMedEd’s printed privacy policy applies to this site. CME credit for this activity is provided by the University of Cincinnati. If you register for CME credit for this educational activity, RedMedEd will forward relevant personally identifiable information to the University of Cincinnati so that records can be maintained concerning any credits issued to you. Aggregated data concerning registrations, posttests, and evaluations may be shared, but RedMedEd will not knowingly share any personally identifiable information. The University of Cincinnati may use the information you provide on this site to contact you about your CME credit or other relevant educational activities provided through the University of Cincinnati.

Copyright

© 2017. This CME-certified program is held as copyrighted by the University of Cincinnati and RedMedEd. Through this notice, the University of Cincinnati and RedMedEd grant permission of its use for educational purposes only. These materials may not be used, in whole or in part, for any commercial purposes without prior permission in writing from the copyright owners.