December 2016
Volume 2, Issue 12
This issue features a look at the 2016 ASH Mentor Awards, a preview of the ASH Annual Meeting, the challenges of designing a clinical trial that is both internally and externally valid, and more.
Table of Contents
December 2016 Issue
So You Say You Want To Be A Clinical Researcher?
Perhaps you’ve just finished your hematology/oncology fellowship a year or two ago. Or you’re still a fellow and, having completed that intensive first year...
A Response on Email Etiquette
In October’s Editor’s Corner, Editor-in-Chief Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, MS, and his colleague at Cleveland Clinic, Jennifer Lonzer, MA, provided “A Primer on Email...
December 2016 Issue
Remembering David Grimwade, David Williams Named First Chief Scientific Officer of Boston Children’s Hospital,...
Remembering David Grimwade, MD, PhD (1962–2016)
David Grimwade, MD, PhD, passed away on October 16. Dr. Grimwade served as a professor of molecular hematology at...
ASH Announces Congressional Fellowship, ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Sickle Cell Disease, and more
Announcing the ASH Congressional Fellowship
The ASH Congressional Fellowship is a new program, offered through a partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of...
December 2016 Issue
Long-Term Impact of the ASH Scholar Award Program
The American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) longest-running award program, the ASH Scholar Award, celebrates more than 30 years of financially supporting fellows and junior...
Who’s In and Who’s Out?
Finding the balance in clinical trial eligibility between too strict, not strict enough, and “just right”
To assess a drug or device’s safety and efficacy,...
To Test or Not to Test: Is Pharmacogenomic Testing for Warfarin Valuable?
Warfarin has been standard anticoagulation for more than 60 years, but the significant variability in both warfarin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics makes achieving therapeutic drug...
A Way With Words: David Steensma, MD
When did your interest in crossword puzzles start? Did you enjoy puzzles growing up?
My mother has long been an avid “cruciverbalist” – a crossword...
Supporting Palliative Care
While early research supports the benefits of integrating palliative care into hematology, more is needed to successfully marry the two specialties.
Any discussion of palliative...
Pulling Back the Curtain: Charles S. Abrams, MD
What was your first job?
I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Almost all my childhood was spent there – except for a brief...
December 2016 Issue
Women and the Risk of Blood Clots
Nearly 900,000 people are affected by blood clots each year, leading to approximately 100,000 blood clot-related deaths annually. Dangerous blood clots such as deep-vein...
A Commitment to Training and Mentoring
Colleagues and former trainees describe Dr. Boxer’s career and his passion for mentoring. Dr. Boxer is the winner of the 2016 ASH Clinical Investigation...
Would you restart rituximab as part of a new chemotherapy regimen for this patient...
This month, Arnold S. Freedman, MD, answers a question about restarting rituximab as part of a new chemotherapy regimen for a patient with diffuse...
Passing the Baton
Dr. Nachman talks about mentoring as an integral part of being a physician–scientist. Dr. Nachman is the winner of the 2016 ASH Basic Science...
December 2016 Issue
Examining the Association Between Misuse of the Opioid Oxymorphone and Cases of Thrombotic Microangiopathy
Ingredient mixtures added to oral prescription opioid formulations to deter misuse and abuse have the unfortunate side effect of increasing the risk of developing...
Bortezomib, Dexamethasone, and Rituximab Combination Is Effective for Newly Diagnosed Waldenström Macroglobulinemia
In a report of long-term follow-up from a phase II trial of patients with newly diagnosed Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), the combination of bortezomib, dexamethasone,...
AABB Releases Clinical Practice Guidelines on Red Blood Cell Transfusion and Storage
The American Association of Blood Banks published in the Journal of the American Medical Association new clinical practice guidelines for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion thresholds...
Vice President Biden Releases Final Report on Cancer Moonshot Initiative Before Leaving Office
Vice President Joe Biden delivered the Cancer Moonshot Initiative’s report, which presented the Task Force and Blue Ribbon Panel’s plans and recommendations, as well as the...
FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation for TLC178 for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
The FDA granted orphan drug designation to the investigational drug TLC178, a liposomal-encapsulated formulation of the chemotherapy drug vinorelbine for patients with cutaneous T-cell...
FDA Awards 21 Grants to Facilitate the Development of Orphan Drugs
The FDA has awarded 21 new clinical trial research grants over the next four years to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare...
CMS Releases Final Rule on MACRA
On October 14, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule outlining the new payment system for Medicare clinicians,...
FDA Approves HEA Test for Sickle Cell Trait
The FDA approved a new molecular assay (PreciseType Human Erythrocyte Antigen test) to screen for sickle cell trait (SCT) in blood donors. The...
ASH Submits Comments to FDA on NGS-Based Tests for Germline Diseases
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) submitted comments to the FDA supporting the agency’s draft guidance for next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based tests for germline diseases....
FDA Grants Breakthrough Designation Therapy for Novel Bone Marrow Transplant Graft Modality
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough designation therapy for NiCord®, a novel graft modality for hematopoietic cell transplants in patients with...
Investigation Underway for WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer
U.S. government officials opened an investigation of funding for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is facing...
NCCN Releases First Set of Guidelines for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released its first guidelines for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), outlining diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care strategies for myelofibrosis (MF)....
The End of the Short- Versus Long-Term Blood Storage Debate?
In the large, multicenter, randomized, controlled INFORM (Informing Fresh versus Old Red Cell Management) study, in-hospital mortality did not differ between patients who received...
Examining Hemoglobin Variants and Geographic Variability of Sickle Cell Trait and Sickle Cell Disease...
Results from the prospective Uganda Sickle Surveillance Study (US3), which was created through a partnership among the Uganda Ministry of Health, Makerere University, and...
Case Study Evaluates Prevalence of Zika Virus in Martinique
While infections caused by the Zika virus captured the world’s attention in 2016, much about the virus remains unknown, including the proportion of asymptomatic...
CARDIA Study: Sickle Cell Trait Is Not Independently Associated With Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Despite concerns that sickle cell trait (SCT) is associated with poor cardiopulmonary fitness and certain cardiovascular risk factors, the relationship between SCT and fitness...
ASH Training Program Associated With High Academic Retention Rate
In response to the need for effective clinical research training programs in hematology, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) created the Clinical Research Training...
Can Biomarkers Predict Treatment Outcomes in Hodgkin Lymphoma Where PET-Adapted Strategy Fails?
For patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, early or interim fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)–PET scanning after two cycles of chemotherapy (PET-2) has been shown to be an effective...
Nearly One in Six Patients Hospitalized for First-Time Syncope Have Pulmonary Embolism
The prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) among hospitalized patients with syncope is not well understood, and international guidelines – such as the European Society...
Newly Identified DNA Mutations Predict for Worse Survival Among Patients With Polycythemia Vera and...
The driver mutations JAK2, CALR, and MPL have prognostic and diagnostic significance for patients with the myeloproliferative neoplasms polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia...
RESONATE-17 Study: Ibrutinib Safe and Effective for Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Del17p Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with 17p deletion (del17p) have a poorer prognosis and worse overall survival (OS) than patients with non-del17p CLL....
Prothrombin Complex Concentrate Versus Fresh Frozen Plasma for Warfarin Reversal
When patients receiving the anticoagulant warfarin experience a major bleeding event or have to undergo emergency surgery, they need rapid and effective reversal of...
Evaluating Acalabrutinib for Hematologic Malignancies, Minimizing Menorrhagia in Women With Type 1 Von Willebrand...
LEUKEMIA
David Steensma, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Phase 1 Trial to Evaluate the Safety, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Splicing Modulator H3B-8800 for Subjects With Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Acute...
HIT or Miss? Comparing Cost-Effectiveness of Fondaparinux, Argatroban, and Bivalirudin for Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia
Two non-heparin anticoagulants have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT): the direct thrombin...
December 2016 Issue
American Society of Hematology’s 2016 Inside Look: Insights from Program Chairs, Speakers, Moderators, and...
This year’s ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, taking place December 3-6 in San Diego, California, features a diverse lineup of educational activities, networking opportunities,...
