December 2019
Volume 5, Issue 15
This issue examines the hidden costs of participating in clinical trials, explores the pediatric hematology/oncology workforce, and more.
Table of Contents
December 2019 Issue
Physician, Heal Thyself: A Memoir of Castleman Disease
In this edition, John Camoriano, MD, reviews Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope into Action, by David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA.
Have you...
My Patients, My Lanes
About a year ago, the National Rifle Association (NRA) tweeted an invective aimed at physicians who advocated for gun control, to the tune of...
Status Update: Shared Decision-Making in Hematology
In this edition, ASH Clinical News Associate Editor Beth Faiman, CNP, PhD, describes the role of shared decision-making in a patient-centered encounter.
Most people have...
Reader Responses: How would you treat a fit 72-year-old with very active myeloma?
Here’s how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about a fit 72-year-old patient with very active myeloma.
Disclaimer: ASH does not recommend...
Reader Responses: Could hormonal contraceptives contribute to a renal infarction in a 23-year-old?
Here’s how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about anticoagulation options for a young patient with a renal infarction and patent...
What Identity Crisis?
In his September issue Editor’s Corner, “Our Identity Crisis,” ASH Clinical News Editor-in-Chief Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, embarked on a quest to determine “who...
December 2019 Issue
How I Treat in Brief: Venous Thromboembolism in Sickle Cell Disease
Arun S. Shet, MD, from the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Ted Wun, MD, from UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in...
Learning From Leaders: An Interview With Leonard Zon, MD
Leonard Zon, MD, one of two 2019 ASH Mentor Award recipients, talks about the importance of hiring nice people who also happen to be...
You Make the Call: Could hormonal contraceptives contribute to a renal infarction in a...
This month, Joel Bennett, MD, discusses anticoagulation options for a young patient with a renal infarction and patent foramen ovale.
And don't forget to check...
You Make the Call: How would you treat a fit 72-year-old with very active...
This month, Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, discusses approaches for a fit 72-year-old patient with very active myeloma.
And don't forget to check out next month's clinical...
Lift as You Climb: An Interview With Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH
Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH, one of two 2019 ASH Mentor Award recipients, speaks about his family code of serving others, which he passes...
December 2019 Issue
Calculating the Costs of Clinical Trials
Patients eager to contribute to research may not be fully aware of the hidden costs of trial participation
Of the three potential risks of participating...
Pulling Back the Curtain: Roy Silverstein, MD
In this edition, Roy L. Silverstein, MD, talks about meeting his wife in the seventh grade, balancing research with practice, and being ahead of...
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: A Small Specialty Experiencing Big Changes
When Mona D. Shah, MD, MBA, finished her medical training in pediatric hematology/oncology in 2007, she estimated that most of her fellow trainees went...
Mainstreaming Alternative and Complementary Medicine
While some treatments for hematologic conditions such as sickle cell disease (SCD) and cancer, have been refined over time – increasing survival rates and...
From the Keys to the Seas: Arthur Topilow, MD
In this edition of pASHions, Arthur Topilow, MD, tells ASH Clinical News about his lifelong love of playing the piano – from performing at...
International Collaborations Help Improve Pediatric Leukemia Outcomes in the Caribbean
Children around the world can develop leukemia, but a patient’s chance of survival varies greatly based simply on where he or she is born....
Demystifying Bispecific Antibodies for Hematologic Malignancies
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) initial approval of the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab in 1997 to treat relapsed or refractory low-grade B...
December 2019 Issue
FDA Expands Rivaroxaban’s Indication to Include Hospitalized Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the direct oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized, acutely ill...
ASH Commissions Study of U.S. Fellows, Honors Stanley Schrier with 2019 Exemplary Service Award,...
ASH Commissions 3-Year Longitudinal Study of U.S. Fellows
The American Society of Hematology (ASH), in partnership with the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity...
Patients’ Humoral Immunity Is Preserved, With Low Rates of Viral Infections, After Anti-CD19 CAR...
The two commercially available chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products both target cells expressing the CD19 antigen, which is present on malignant and nonmalignant...
National Academy of Medicine Releases Report on Clinician Burnout
In a newly published report, the National Academy of Medicine called for systematic changes from health care organizations, educational institutions, and all levels of...
Updated Romiplostim Label Supports Earlier Use in ITP
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to a supplemental Biologics License Application for romiplostim that updates the drug’s label to include...
Vincristine Shortages Expected to Continue Into 2020
The U.S. is experiencing a shortage of the chemotherapy drug vincristine, a critical treatment for leukemias, lymphomas, and brain tumors in adult and pediatric...
European Commission Approves Gilteritinib for FLT3-Mutated, Relapsed/Refractory AML
The European Commission approved the oral FLT3/AXL inhibitor gilteritinib as a single agent for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute...
Emicizumab Lowers Bleeding Rates in Children With Hemophilia A and Inhibitors
Once-weekly treatment with emicizumab prophylaxis led to low bleeding rates in children with hemophilia A and factor VIII (FVIII) inhibitors, with more than three-quarters...
Chemotherapy-Free Regimen of ATRA Plus Arsenic Trioxide Improves Survival in APL
Updated results from the APL0406 study suggest that the combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus arsenic trioxide (ATO) was associated with greater long-term...
Moderate-Intensity Endurance Training Improves Skeletal Microvasculature in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
An endurance exercise training program of moderate intensity may reverse some of the microvascular deficits of skeletal microvasculature in patients with sickle cell disease...
Vitamin D Deficiency Associated With Poorer Survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma
For patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), having vitamin D deficiency prior to starting treatment appears to be associated with worse progression-free survival (PFS) and...
Is the Flu Vaccine Effective in Patients With Cancer?
In a population-based study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers found that the influenza vaccine protected patients with cancer against developing flu,...
The Fewer Transfusions, the Better for Newborns With Thrombocytopenia
Newborns with thrombocytopenia had a lower risk of death or bleeding if they received platelet transfusions according to a lower 25×109/L threshold rather than...
Twin Study Finds No Genetic Predisposition to Clonal Hematopoiesis
In a study published in Blood, researchers found no concordance in somatic clonal hematopoiesis (CH) mutations in a cohort of older twins, indicating that...
U.K. Labour Party Proposes Expanding Government Regulation of Pharmaceutical Market
The opposition U.K. Labour Party has pledged to reform the country’s pharmaceutical market by establishing a publicly owned generic drug manufacturer and expanding the...
Nobel Prize Awarded for Discovery of How Cells Sense Oxygen, ASH Members Elected to...
Nobel Prize Awarded for Discovery of How Cells Sense Oxygen
The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to scientists William G. Kaelin Jr.,...
Genetic Testing Kit Company 23andMe Moving Into Clinical Trial Recruitment
The consumer genetic testing kit company 23andMe announced that it will partner with tech startup TrialSpark to help match interested customers with nearby clinical...
