September 2020
Volume 6, Issue 11
This issue features a look at the evolution of preprint platforms, an analysis of the economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
Table of Contents
September 2020 Issue
Reader Responses: Should a pregnant patient with hemochromatosis receive iron?
Here’s how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about the treatment of iron deficiency during pregnancy in a patient with hereditary...
Editor’s Corner: What’s Your Type?
Each of us remembers moments in our education that have shaped us into who we are. Books we read, lessons we hear, and encounters...
September 2020 Issue
ASH Publishes New Clinical Practice Guidelines on AML in Older Adults, and more
ASH Publishes New Clinical Practice Guidelines on AML in Older Adults
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is pleased to announce the release of...
Evaluating Selinexor in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL
Oral selinexor demonstrated durable activity and a 28% response rate in patients with previously treated relapsed and refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), according...
ART and PrEP May Present Challenges in Detecting HIV Infection in Blood Donations
While antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are effective tools to help reduce the burden of HIV, a new study published in Blood...
White House Introduces Executive Orders Addressing Drug Prices
President Donald Trump has announced four new executive orders that are aimed at lowering drug prices. The orders instruct the Department of Health and...
First CAR T-Cell Treatment Approved for Mantle Cell Lymphoma
The FDA granted accelerated approval to brexucabtagene autoleucel (formerly KTE-X19), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with...
Bispecific Immune Cell Engager AFM13 Plus Pembrolizumab Produces High Responses in Heavily Treated Hodgkin...
In a phase Ib study published in Blood, treatment with AFM13, a CD30/CD16A bispecific tetravalent innate immune cell engager, was safe and produced promising...
Large Study Identifies Predictors of Inferior Survival in Patients With Burkitt Lymphoma
A retrospective analysis of data from 30 U.S. cancer centers found that adults with newly diagnosed Burkitt lymphoma (BL) have modest survival rates and...
FDA Approves Decitabine and Cedazuridine Combination for MDS
The FDA approved an oral combination of decitabine and cedazuridine for adults with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), including:
those with previously treated and untreated, de...
Study Supports Earlier, More Frequent Use of Hospice in Older Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
Earlier and more frequent hospice use may be associated with a lower probability of inpatient death and a reduction in aggressive care at end...
Geriatric Assessment Identifies Risk Factors for Worse Survival in Older Adults With AML
Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who undergo post-remission therapy may be at risk of poor survival if they present with impaired physical...
Cutaneous Toxicities Are Underestimated in Patients With MPNs Receiving Hydroxyurea
A prospective study from Germany has found that, in patients with BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), treatment with hydroxyurea (hydroxycarbamide) is associated with a substantially...
FDA Approves New HIV Treatment for Patients With Restricted Options
The FDA has approved fostemsavir for adult patients with HIV who have tried multiple medications and whose HIV infection cannot be successfully treated with...
Remembering Edward Henderson, MD, and more
Remembering Edward Henderson, MD (1932 – 2020)
Hematologist Edward Henderson, MD, passed away on June 25, 2020, at the age of 87.Dr. Henderson spent 12...
September 2020 Issue
Pulling Back the Curtain: Siobán Keel, MD
In this edition, Sioḃán Keel, MD, recalls early inspiration to enter medicine from her mother, an Irish nurse, as well as those who mentored her along...
The Rise of Preprint Archives
As medical research continues to evolve, so do publication platforms.
The traditional peer review publishing model has operated in much the same way since its...
The Costs of COVID-19
The massive economic and health impacts of the global pandemic may be difficult to quantify, but there are still lessons to be learned.
In May...
September 2020 Issue
How I Treat in Brief: Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the Era of New Drugs
Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, and Andrew H. Wei, MD, review recently approved therapies for acute myeloid leukemia and the treatment challenges they present.
This material...
You Make the Call: Should a pregnant patient with hemochromatosis receive iron?
This month, Tomas Ganz, MD, PhD, discusses the treatment of iron deficiency during pregnancy in a patient with hereditary hemochromatosis.
And don't forget to check...
September 2020 Issue
Late-Breaking Abstracts Address Thrombosis and COVID-19
A growing body of clinical evidence indicates that COVID-19 infection predisposes patients to arterial and venous thrombosis and thrombotic complications. At the International Society...
Extended Half-Life Factor VIII Fusion Protein Effective in Previously Untreated Hemophilia A
The use of extended half-life recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) appeared to be safe and effective in young boys with previously untreated...
FLT180a: A New Gene Therapy Candidate for Severe Hemophilia B
In a small study of patients with severe hemophilia B, the novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy FLT180a was associated with increased factor IX...
Decitabine Plus Venetoclax Outperforms Intensive Chemotherapy Across Risk Groups
For older and unfit patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), venetoclax plus hypomethylating agents (HMAs) have been established as a standard of care and...
Phase I Trial Supports CC-92480 for Heavily Pretreated Myeloma
Results from a first-in-human trial of CC-92480 in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma show a manageable safety profile and promising efficacy, according...
Caplacizumab Produces Faster, Sustained Platelet Count Responses Than Placebo in aTTP
Patients with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) who were treated with caplacizumab – anti–von Willebrand factor humanized immunoglobulin – experienced a faster and more...