Conference goals are to (a) provide a better awareness and harmonization of the diagnostic criteria of the disease and cofactors that contribute to the evolution of clinical disease associated with the defined genetic defects of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) in the hematology, oncology, immunology, and infectious disease community; (b) establish a working definition for these criteria, including validity of flow cytometry for double negative T-cell enumeration, utility of in vitro apoptosis assays in streamlining the diagnosis, and the development of a highly reproducible killing assay for abnormal Fas-mediated apoptosis; (c) provide a framework for investigating the cause and treatment of complications such as cytopenias and lymphomas resulting from relentless lymphoproliferation in patients with ALPS; (d) To stimulate the development of new clinical protocols to treat these diseases and possibly organize a consortium for case referral, diagnosis, molecular investigation, and treatment studies; and (e) develop a better understanding of the cofactors that contribute to the evolution of clinical disease associated with the defined genetic defects leading to ALPS.
Additional Information: Conference Web Site