American College of Cryosurgery Holds Annual Meeting

by Kristi K. Snyder, PhD, ACCryo2013 Conference Coordinator, kristi@accryo2013.org

The American College of Cryosurgery, founded in 1977, hosted its first meeting January 2-7, 2013, after a hiatus of nearly ten years. The meeting venues provided a unique experience for participants and accompanying guests.

A land-based session was held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Miami Hotel. Dr. John G. Baust, State University of New York Binghamton, ACC President, made welcoming remarks, during which he highlighted the growth in both the number and diversity of cryoablative procedures for treatment of cancers and the major investment by industry over the past decade, exceeding one billion dollars in acquisitions. Welcoming comments were also offered by Dr. John Crowe, President of the Society for Cryobiology, a co-host of the meeting.

Just over 100 participants from ten countries took part in the scientific sessions, which began with a poster session and key lecture by Dr. James Vaught, Branch Chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Biorepositories & Biospecimen Research Branch, on the topic of Cancer Specimen Biorepositories. Biobanking is one of the fastest growing segments of the life sciences with projections of more than two billion dollars investment by 2015 (Source: Global Market Watch). Vaught is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biopreservation and Biobanking, which reports on current issues in the biobanking industry.

On Thursday morning the conference moved to the Celebrity Cruise Ship Constellation for four days of meetings, with stops in Key West FL and Cozumel, Mexico. A keynote address on Advances in Cryoablation presented by Baust covered many of the important engineering and medical challenges affecting the development of curative cancer therapies. The next session was organized by Dr. P. J. Pasricha from Johns Hopkins Medical Center on the challenges of cryoablative therapy using flexible endoscopy and cryoprobes in the GI tract. The Hopkins team, along with Dr. K. K. Snyder, CPSI Biotech, Inc., discussed applications and advancements in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, Barrett’s Esophagus and other GI indications.

Conference participants awoke in Key West for a Friday morning of exploration including visits by a few to Margaritaville to enjoy a proverbial “eye opener.” Afternoon and early evening sessions followed. Dr. Michael Sabel of the University of Michigan provided a keynote address on Cryo-immunology, followed by Dr. John C. Bischof’s (University of Minnesota) session on combinatorial strategies to treat cancer which included presentations on the use of nanoparticles. The last session chaired by Snyder included presentations on prostate cancer sensitization and innovative strategies for breast cancer treatment.

Saturday’s keynote address was provided by Dr. Kenneth B. Storey, Carleton University, Ottawa, on Mammalian Hibernation—Clinical Implications, followed by three scientific sessions:

Hypothermic Medicine (Dr. Michael J. Taylor, Cell & Tissue Systems, Inc. and Carnegie Mellon University). In this session Taylor and Dr. Papas covered developments in organ harvest methodologies and transport devices. Baust (CPSI Biotech, Inc.) expanded our understanding of the molecular basis of cellular responses to low temperature that compromise cell survival.

Blood Cell Preservation (Dr. John Crowe, UC Davis). This session provided insights into freeze drying methodologies for human platelets (Crowe) and red blood cells (Dr. Amir Arav, Core Dynamics, Israel).

Preservation of Biotherapeutic Products (Anthony T. Robilotto, Binghamton University) featured presentations on preservation advancements using microwave thawing (Dr. G.D. Elliott, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), preservation media modifications (Dr. David Gale, CryoLife, Inc.) and standardization (Dr. B. Glasmacher, Leibniz University Hannover). Cozumel, Mexico, was the port of call in the afternoon, providing ample opportunity for long walks with colleagues in balmy tropical temperatures.

The final day of the onboard component of the conference began with a keynote by Dr. Truls Eric Bjerklund Johansen, Norway, on Cryosurgical Ablation of Prostate Cancer. Dr. Neil K. Sanghvi, Lenox Hill Hospital, led a session on atrial fibrillation and cryoablation. A closing session organized by Dr. Yoed Rabin, Carnegie Mellon University, featured four presentations on diverse aspects of product development in the field. Rabin discussed computational tools necessary to model treatment zones. Robilotto discussed advancements in cryogenic engineering leading to the development of supercritical nitrogen cryosurgical devices (CPSI Biotech, Inc.). Dr. Kenneth R. Diller, University of Texas, detailed the development of hypothermic temperature therapeutic devices and Dr. Gary Onik, Center for Urological Advancement, spoke on the merits of MRI-guided cryosurgery.

Monday morning brought the participants back to reality, flights home and for many, subfreezing temperatures. The conference was made possible in part by educational grants from Endo Health Solutions, CPSI Biotech, Inc., the State University of New York at Binghamton, the Society for Cryobiology, Chart MVE and Galil Medical. The meeting was judged a success, as the venue provided unique opportunities to discuss topics of mutual interest. Next year’s ACC Annual Meeting will be land-based in Florida, tentatively scheduled for February 1-4, 2014. Members of CSA will be very welcome at our next meeting.
More photos from the International Society of Cryosurgery are available at 2csa.us/accryophotos.