AASLD provided an opportunity for registrants at The Liver Meeting® to attend independently organized symposia supported by the pharmaceutical industry. These symposia took place on Saturday, November 1; Sunday, November 2; and Monday, November 3 following scheduled educational events. Several of the programs are offering enduring materials online - if the link to these materials has been provided to AASLD, the program is included in the list below. Please contact the individual indicated with each symposium for additional details.
Each of the symposia organizers has made a financial contribution in support of the educational mission of AASLD. This support allowed symposia organizers access to The Liver Meeting®'s attendees before the meeting by way of mail promotions, and on the specified evenings during the meeting. They also made many features of The Liver Meeting® possible and helped maintain reasonable registration fees. This support is gratefully acknowledged. This acknowledgement, however, does not constitute an endorsement of any product, nor AASLD oversight or endorsement of the content of the program. These programs are not affiliated with AASLD.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Cases in Point: Risk Factors, Surveillance Strategies and Treatment Options for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)
Supported by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals
Organized by Clinical Care Options, LLC
CME provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine
Salon 1 – 7, Marriott San Francisco
On completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
• Discuss the clinical implications and importance of surveillance strategies in monitoring patient populations at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
• Describe the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to optimizing outcomes in patients with HCC.
• Identify the potential impact of novel targeted agents in the treatment of advanced HCC based on current clinical guideline recommendations.
• Recount recent clinical trial results regarding the clinical potential of multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of advanced HCC.
• Discuss ongoing research in multimodality treatment approaches for HCC.
For more information, contact Amy Goldman at 585-533-1874 or agoldman@clinicaloptions.com.
Debating the Key Clinical Questions for the Management of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection
Supported by Schering-Plough Corporation
Organized by Curatio CME Institute LLC
CME provided by Curatio CME Institute LLC
Golden Gate A-C, Marriott San Francisco
At the end of this activity, participants should be able to:
• List the predictors of treatment response and methods to optimize SVR.
• Describe the advantages and limitations of long-term therapy with PEG-IFN + RBV.
• Identify treatment strategies for relapsing or nonresponding patients.
• Apply current and emerging clinical data to optimize treatment success.
• Assess the clinical utility of HCV protease and polymerase inhibitors.
For more information, contact Danielle Hesser at 610-363-1619 ext 127 or danielle.hesser@curatiocme.com.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
HBV Providers' Choice in "PRIME" Time: Addressing Issues of Patient Populations, Resistance, Individualized Treatment, Management, and Efficacy
Supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb
Organized by Clinical Care Options, LLC
CME provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine
Salon 8, Marriott San Francisco
On completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
• Describe the strategies used to decide who and how to treat different patient populations.
• Identify patient management factors that are associated with avoiding HBV treatment resistance and ensuring durability of response.
• Summarize recent HBV treatment data, including efficacy, and its potential impact on treatment considerations for individualizing HBV treatment.
• Describe different potential management strategies used for suboptimal responses to HBV treatment.
For more information, contact Amy Goldman at 585-533-1874 or agoldman@clinicaloptions.com.
The HCV Council Investigations: Converging Evidence With Clinical Opinion
Supported by Roche Pharmaceuticals
Organized by Consensus Medical Communications
CME provided by Medical Education Resources, Inc.
Salon 9 – 15, Marriott San Francisco
At the end of this activity, participants will be able to:
• Identify clinical scenarios where viral kinetics-driven decision making regarding treatment duration is optimal for patient outcomes.
• Evaluate current standards for treatment endpoints and discuss the significance of sustained virologic response.
• Discuss the role of maintenance PEG-IFN therapy in the treatment of viral non-responders.
• Identify evidence-based approaches to addressing poor response factors in HCV treatment, including ribavirin-induced anemia and insulin resistance.
• Determine the appropriateness of doses of PEG-IFN and ribavirin beyond standard-of-care to improve poor antiviral response.
• Discuss the potential future role of small molecule therapy in the treatment of HCV.
For more information, contact Jeannine Strampel at 303-551-9471 or jstrampel@consensusmedical.com.
Brainstorming With the Experts - Practical Approaches to the Complex World of HCV
Supported by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Organized by Projects In Knowledge, Inc.
CME provided by Projects In Knowledge, Inc.
Golden Gate A-C, Marriott San Francisco
After participating in this activity, the clinician should be able to:
• Evaluate standard-of-care therapies and their shortcomings in the treatment and management of HCV infection in order to optimize viral eradication in HCV-infected patients, thereby reducing disease burden.
• Identify factors associated with nonresponse, null response, and relapse in patients receiving anti-HCV treatment in order to select and apply strategies that improve treatment response.
• Assess the potential of emerging HCV therapeutic strategies for improving treatment response and outcomes in HCV-infected patients by analyzing preliminary efficacy and safety data of the protease and polymerase inhibitors.
For more information, contact Alicia Zambri at 973-200-2524 or a.zambri@projectsinknowledge.com.
Monday, November 3, 2008
To Arrest a Virus: Interactive Case Study Discussion on the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection (link to come)
Supported by Gilead Sciences Medical Affairs
Organized by HealthmattersCME
CME provided by Medical Education Collaborative
Salon 7&8, Marriott San Francisco
After participating in this activity, the participants will be able to:
• Describe the epidemiology and natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
• Implement a program of screening, vaccination, and diagnosis of HBV within their clinical practices.
• Evaluate the risks and benefits of available agents for treating chronic HBV infection.
• Evaluate current data on the potential use of combination therapy for patients with chronic HBV infection.
For more information, contact Alexis Gabor at 646-674-1820 or agabor@contacthmc.com.