November 2019
Volume 5, Issue 13
This issue explores treating older patients with frailty, discusses the management of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, and more.
Table of Contents
November 2019 Issue
Grief Tacos
Life is hard. People are resilient.
I gave birth to our second son this past February. There are some things about the second kid that...
November 2019 Issue
Remembering Thomas P. Stossel, CPRIT Awards $136 Million in 71 New Grants, and more
Remembering Thomas P. Stossel (1941 – 2019)
Thomas P. Stossel, MD, former president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), passed away unexpectedly on September...
ASH Announces Three New Executive Committee Members, Free Childcare at the 2019 ASH Annual...
Congratulations to ASH’s Three New Executive Committee Members
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has announced the election of three new members to its Executive...
November 2019 Issue
Staging the Aging
Routine assessment of frailty can help clinicians tailor treatments and supportive care to an individual patient’s needs
Hematologic malignancies are often diseases of older adults...
Pulling Back the Curtain: Jane Little, MD
In this edition, Jane Little, MD, recounts growing up as one of six children, learning from her colleagues in the Pasta and Red Cell...
November 2019 Issue
You Make the Call: Is upfront transplant appropriate for this patient with a rare...
This month, Mitchell Smith, MD, PhD, discusses the role of transplant in gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma.
And don't forget to check out next month's clinical dilemma...
How I Treat In Brief: Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma
Recently, Lisa Giulino-Roth, MD, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, discussed the management of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, a rare subtype of...
Reader Responses: Is upfront transplant appropriate for this patient with a rare cutaneous T-cell...
Here’s how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about the role of transplant in gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma.
Disclaimer: ASH does not recommend...
November 2019 Issue
Opioid Manufacturers Reach Settlements in State Lawsuits
Large drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma has agreed to pay $10 billion to settle more than 2,600 lawsuits filed by states, cities, counties, individuals, and...
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Does Not Appear to Protect Against Major Bleeding
Patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a prothrombotic complication of heparin exposure, are believed to be protected against anticoagulant-associated bleeding, but results from a retrospective analysis...
Older Patients with iTTP Have Delayed Diagnosis and Higher Mortality Than Younger Counterparts
Older patients diagnosed with immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) have worse short- and long-term mortality compared with younger patients and the general population, according...
Eltrombopag Induces Complete Platelet Responses in Patients with Lymphoproliferative Disorders and Treatment-Resistant ITP
Results from a small phase II trial suggest that treatment with eltrombopag was associated with sustained platelet responses and complete responses (CRs) in patients...
Study Identifies Familial Risk Patterns of Several Hematologic Malignancies
People who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with a hematologic malignancy have a higher risk of developing a blood cancer, according to an analysis...
With PET-Guided Treatment, Can Radiation Be Eliminated in Early-Stage HL?
Combined modality treatment (CMT) consisting of chemotherapy and small-field radiotherapy has long been considered the standard of care for patients with early-stage, favorable Hodgkin...
FDA Places Trials of MCL-1 Inhibitor on Clinical Hold
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a clinical hold on a phase I, dose-escalation study of AMG 397, an oral, small...
Case Report Shows CRISPR-Based Gene Editing Feasible for HIV-Infected Patient
In a case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers successfully used a CRISPR-based gene-editing approach in a patient with HIV...
Cardiovascular Events Common With Proteasome Inhibitor Therapy for Previously Treated Multiple Myeloma
Cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) commonly occur during proteasome inhibitor (PI) therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM), particularly in patients with elevated natriuretic peptides or...
Insurers Propose Coverage of Expensive Gene Therapies
Large health insurers have unveiled new payment models to make gene therapies – which offer a one-time cure for patients with life-threatening and rare...
FDA Urges Companies to Stop Reporting Gene-Drug Links to Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising genetic testing companies against reporting interactions between DNA findings and drug efficacy or side effects...
Fedratinib Now Approved for Primary or Secondary Myelofibrosis
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved fedratinib to treat intermediate-2 or high-risk primary or secondary (post-polycythemia vera or post-essential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis....
November 2019 Issue
Carfilzomib-Based Quadruplet Regimen Beats Triplet Approach in Newly Diagnosed Myeloma
Induction with the quadruplet regimen of carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (KCRD) led to deeper responses and longer progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with...
Subcutaneous and Intravenous Daratumumab Have Similar Safety, Efficacy in Previously Treated and Newly Diagnosed...
A subcutaneous formulation of daratumumab, plus standard-of-care treatment, led to response rates that were similar to those seen with intravenous daratumumab in patients with...
Can Immunomodulatory Drugs Overcome CHIP’s Effects in Post-Transplant Multiple Myeloma?
Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who harbor somatic mutations in hematopoietic cells, known as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), have better post–autologous hematopoietic...