Mary Horowitz, MD, MS scientific director of the International Bone
Marrow Transplant Registry and the Autologous Blood and Marrow
Transplant Registry (IBMTR/ABMTR) at the Medical College of
Wisconsin, has been awarded a 5-year, $9.5 million grant from the
National Institutes of Health.
The grant is intended to fund the operation and further development
of this data and statistical resource. It replaces the National
Institutes of Health Program Project grant mechanis, which now
provides approximately 50% of the funding for the activities of the
IBMTR/ABMTR Statistical Center as a data resource for analyzing blood
and marrow transplants.
Dr. Horowitz is professor of medicine and a member of the Cancer
Center at the Medical College. The IBMTR/ABMTR is a division of the
Medical Colleges Health Policy Institute.
The Statistical Center coordinates an international effort to collect
and analyze data on outcome of blood and bone marrow transplants. The
IBMTR, established in 1972, and the ABMTR, established in 1990,
involve more than 400 transplant centers in 47 countries.
Participating centers submit data on consecutive transplants to the
center. The registries currently have data for more than 80,000 transplants.
These data are used to determine transplant results in specific
clinical situations. Researchers identify prognostic factors and
compare transplant regimens and transplant therapy with nontransplant
therapy. They also assess variability in diagnosis, practice, and
outcomes among transplant centers. The data are also used to evaluate
transplant costs and cost-effectiveness, plan clinical trials or
treatment protocols, and develop approaches to evaluating transplant outcomes.
