June 2019
Volume 5, Issue 7
This issue features a debate about new treatment options for beta thalassemia, a look at what’s driving skyrocketing drug prices in myeloma, and more
Table of Contents
June 2019 Issue
Physician (Un)wellness
I’ve been mulling over the concept of wellness, or really on unwellness, for the past several months. You can’t read a publication without someone...
June 2019 Issue
Remembering Milton H. Freedman, Caryn Lerman Named Director of USC Norris, and More
Remembering Milton H. Freedman (1919 – 2019)
Milton H. Freedman, MD, the first hematologist to open a private practice in Atlanta, died on January 21,...
2020 Brings New Editor-in-Chief for ASH Clinical News, and more
Learn About Legislation and Health Policy from the ASH Advocacy Leadership Institute!
This October marks the ninth annual ASH Advocacy Leadership Institute (ALI): An opportunity...
June 2019 Issue
Pulling Back the Curtain: David Schenkein, MD
In this edition, David Schenkein, MD, walks us through the three stages – and counting – of his career.
Hear more from our interview with Dr....
Are New Treatment Options for Beta Thalassemia Ready for Widespread Use?
Patients with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, the most severe form of the disease, require lifelong management with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, presenting a substantial...
In Myeloma, New Drugs, Skyrocketing Price Tags
In late February, seven pharmaceutical executives were called before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to testify about the prices of brand-name prescription drugs, which...
June 2019 Issue
How I Treat In Brief: Treating Cancer-Associated Venous Thromboembolism
Recently, Noémie Kraaijpoel, MD, and Marc Carrier, MD, MSc, FRCPC, discussed the management of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer. Below, we summarize their...
Reader Responses: Treating gout in a patient with G6PD deficiency
Here’s how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about treating gout in a patient with G6PD deficiency.
Disclaimer: ASH does not recommend...
Treating gout in a patient with G6PD deficiency
This month, Yvonne H. Datta, MD, discusses the treatment of gout in a patient with G6PD deficiency.
And don't forget to check out next month's...
June 2019 Issue
Early Phase Trial Shows PB2452 Immediately Reverses Ticagrelor’s Antiplatelet Activity
The monoclonal antibody fragment PB2452 effectively and immediately reversed the antiplatelet effects of ticagrelor in healthy volunteers, according to results from a phase I...
Hematologic Malignancies Drive In-Hospital Death Rates
In the past 17 years, the overall rate of in-hospital deaths among patients with hematologic malignancies has decreased by 30 percent, with a corresponding...
Higher Dose, Longer Duration of Eltrombopag Improves Likelihood of Response in Refractory Severe Aplastic...
The thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with refractory severe aplastic anemia...
Federal Trade Commission Wins Case Against Predatory Publisher
OMICS International, which publishes nearly 700 scientific journals, was ordered to pay $50.1 million in damages for engaging in “predatory publisher” tactics. The ruling...
Europe Poised to Approve Gene Therapy for Beta Thalassemia
Europe’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approve Bluebird Bio’s LentiGlobin gene-therapy product for patients...
U.S. CRISPR Study in Humans Gets Underway
The first patients enrolled in a trial of CRISPR-based gene editing at the University of Pennsylvania have been treated with the powerful – and...
FDA and State Authorities Renew Efforts Against Dangerous Stem Cell Clinics
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and New York’s attorney general have announced new policing strategies against for-profit clinics that offer expensive and...
Is There a Role for AHCT Consolidation in MCL in the Rituximab Era?
The availability of rituximab-containing induction regimens for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has improved outcomes, but younger, transplant-eligible patients may benefit from consolidative...
No Benefit in Adding Rituximab to MBVP in CNS Lymphoma
Results from a phase III trial suggest there is no survival benefit of adding the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab to a standard methotrexate-based chemotherapy...
Is “Watching and Waiting” Enough for Patients With Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma?
For patients with nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), active surveillance appeared to be a feasible initial management strategy, according to an analysis published in...
June 2019 Issue
Umbralisib Confers Durable Response, Tumor Reductions in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Marginal Zone Lymphoma
While rituximab-based treatment has improved outcomes for patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), most patients eventually have a disease relapse. According to results from...
Transgene Levels Not Sufficient for Treatment Decisions in CAR T-Cell–Treated Patients
An analysis of three clinical trials of tisagenlecleucel found that levels of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) transgene (or the gene that is artificially introduced...
Gilteritinib Superior to Standard Chemotherapy in Relapsed/Refractory FLT3-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Treatment with the oral FLT3/AXL inhibitor gilteritinib led to longer overall survival (OS) in patients with relapsed/refractory FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), compared with...
