Multiple myeloma: a paradigm for blending community and academic care
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):318-323. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000431.ABSTRACTThe care of the multiple myeloma (MM) patient is complex, with most patients requiring multiple lines of therapy over a span of many years to decades. Since the days when autologous stem cell transplantation became the standard of care for a large subset of patients, it was imperative that community practices and specialized academic centers work together to optimize the initial care of patients. Now, with the unprecedented number of treatment options and the introduction of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therap...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Jes ús G Berdeja Source Type: research

Diagnosis and laboratory monitoring of hemophilia A
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):11-18. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000460.ABSTRACTAcquired hemophilia A (AHA) is a rare disorder in which autoantibodies against factor VIII (FVIII) lead to a bleeding phenotype that varies from life-threatening to no bleeding at all. Prolonged activated partial thromboplastin times (APTT) in patients with a bleeding phenotype should be investigated to rule out AHA and should never be ignored in a preprocedure patient. Most inhibitors in AHA are heat and time dependent, so mixing studies performed only on an immediate mix are not useful: both lupus anticoagulants a...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Sean Platton Suthesh Sivapalaratnam Priyanka Raheja Source Type: research

Incidence, mechanism, and consequences of IV iron-induced hypophosphatemia
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):636-639. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000521.NO ABSTRACTPMID:38066924 | PMC:PMC10727077 | DOI:10.1182/hematology.2023000521 (Source: Hematology ASH Education Program)
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Kylee L Martens Myles Wolf Source Type: research

Intravenous iron therapy in pediatrics: who should get it and when is the right time?
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):630-635. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000496.ABSTRACTIron-deficiency anemia occurs most commonly in young children due to a low-iron diet and adolescent girls due to menstrual blood loss. However, children with gastrointestinal conditions such as intestinal failure, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and/or other chronic conditions, including chronic kidney disease and heart failure, also commonly have iron deficiency. Many patients with classic iron-deficiency anemia will improve with oral iron therapy. However, in children who have an incomplete response ...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Clay T Cohen Jacquelyn M Powers Source Type: research

When to consider inherited marrow failure syndromes in adults
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):548-555. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000488.ABSTRACTThe inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS) are a heterogenous group of disorders caused by germline mutations in related genes and characterized by bone marrow failure (BMF), disease specific organ involvement, and, in most cases, predisposition to malignancy. Their distinction from immune marrow failure can often be challenging, particularly when presentations occur in adulthood or are atypical. A combination of functional (disease specific assays) and genetic testing is optimal in assessing all new BMF ...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Fernanda Gutierrez-Rodrigues Bhavisha A Patel Emma M Groarke Source Type: research

Gene therapy for sickle cell disease
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):542-547. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000487.ABSTRACTSickle cell disease (SCD) is potentially curable after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or autologous HSCT after ex vivo genetic modification. Autologous HSCT with gene therapy has the potential to overcome many of the limitations of allogeneic HSCT that include the lack of suitable donors, graft-versus-host disease, the need for immune suppression, and the potential for graft rejection. Significant progress in gene therapy for SCD has been made over the past several decades, now with a gr...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Alexis Leonard John F Tisdale Source Type: research

MRD-directed therapy in CLL: ready for prime time?
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):413-420. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000441.ABSTRACTIn recent years, the treatment paradigm for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has moved away from chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) toward the use of novel targeted agents. Commercially available drugs, including Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax, often used in combination with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, are now the mainstay of therapy both in the frontline and in relapsed settings. As the landscape for CLL management evolves, therapeutic endpoints need to be redefin...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Joanna M Rhodes Carlos A Lopez Jacqueline C Barrientos Source Type: research

Amyloid consults do not have to be vexing
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):407-412. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000440.ABSTRACTDiagnosing amyloidosis can be challenging due to its clinical heterogeneity, need for multiple specialists to make a diagnosis, and lack of a single diagnostic test for the disease. Patients are often diagnosed late, in advanced stage, and after exhibiting multiple symptoms and signs for a long period. It is important to develop a clinical suspicion of amyloidosis, particularly in those with multisystemic symptoms and high-risk patient populations such as those with precursor hematologic conditions. A systematic a...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Anita D'Souza Source Type: research

IV iron formulations and use in adults
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):622-629. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000495.ABSTRACTIntravenous iron has become a major component of the therapeutic armamentarium for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia. The earliest formulations were associated with unacceptable toxicity. Newer formulations, with complex carbohydrate cores that bind elemental iron more tightly, allow the administration of full therapeutic doses in 15 to 60 minutes. Nonetheless, a folklore of danger, fueled by earlier formulations no longer available, continues to foment caution. Complement-mediated minor infusion reaction...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Layla Van Doren Michael Auerbach Source Type: research

Sex, lies, and iron deficiency: a call to change ferritin reference ranges
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):617-621. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000494.ABSTRACTIron deficiency is a very common and treatable disorder. Of all the tests available to diagnose iron deficiency, the serum ferritin is the most able to discriminate iron deficiency from other disorders. However, the reference range for ferritin in many laboratories will lead to underdiagnosis of iron deficiency in women. Studies have shown that 30%-50% of healthy women will have no marrow iron stores, so basing ferritin cutoffs on the lowest 2.5% of sampled ferritins is not appropriate. In addition, several lines ...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Kylee Martens Thomas G DeLoughery Source Type: research

Mutational screening to improve the transplantation decision-making process in MDS
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):73-76. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000516.NO ABSTRACTPMID:38066932 | PMC:PMC10727083 | DOI:10.1182/hematology.2023000516 (Source: Hematology ASH Education Program)
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Alessia Campagna Matteo G Della Porta Source Type: research

Labor and delivery: DIC, HELLP, preeclampsia
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):737-744. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000500.ABSTRACTHematologists are often needed to assist with the management of microangiopathic emergencies in pregnancy. A firm understanding of the diagnosis and management of preeclampsia with severe features, hemolysis elevated liver enzyme and low platelet syndrome, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, which are the most common causes of microangiopathic emergencies, is critical. However, being able to consider when other microangiopathic emergencies (acute fatty liver of pregnancy, congenital and acquired thrombotic...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Juliana Perez Botero Jennifer Jury McIntosh Source Type: research

What makes a pediatric or young adult patient an appropriate transplant candidate?
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):731-736. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000519.ABSTRACTA 3-year-old child with chronic granulomatous disease was brought to the transplant clinic by his parents. The patient has a history of Aspergillus fumigatus pneumonia, which required mechanical ventilation, and sepsis, resulting in several intensive care stays. He has failure to thrive and developmental delay. His parents are seeking guidance whether allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a reasonable treatment option given concerns about his upfront major health limitations. Based on the original...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Monica S Thakar Mohamed L Sorror Source Type: research

Approaches to optimize outcomes in transplant recipients
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):723-730. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000459.ABSTRACTCurative therapy with an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) can now be offered to a wider patient population due to improvements in donor selection, transplant conditioning regimens, and supportive care measures. However, risk of transplant-related morbidity and mortality remains, and thus appropriate transplant candidate workup pre-HCT for risk stratification and a management plan after HCT is crucial for success of the procedure. These include understanding and identifying risk of underlying malignan...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Asmita Mishra Source Type: research

Provoked vs minimally provoked vs unprovoked VTE: does it matter?
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2023 Dec 8;2023(1):600-605. doi: 10.1182/hematology.2023000492.ABSTRACTVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a multifactorial disease, and its risk depends on exposure to risk factors and predisposing conditions. Based on their strength of association with a VTE episode, risk factors are classified as major or minor and determined using a temporal pattern to be transient or persistent. All patients with VTE should receive anticoagulant treatment for at least 3 months in the absence of an absolute contraindication. Beyond this period, selected patients may be candidates for an extended phas...
Source: Hematology ASH Education Program - December 9, 2023 Category: Hematology Authors: Cecilia Becattini Ludovica Anna Cimini Source Type: research