Articles related to Hematology/Oncology

Surgery still offers the best chance of cure for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). However, for locally advanced or metastatic well-differentiated tumors, medical therapy including theranostics, targeted therapies, and chemotherapy can all play a role. Clinical Advances in Hematology & Oncology reviews the diagnosis and management of these tumors.

In this series from Blood that tackles four cases studies, the outcomes of AML pediatric patients compared to children with ALL is explored, focusing on the emerging new treatments venetoclax (Venclexta; AbbVie/Genentech), CD33- and CD123-directed CAR T-cell therapy, CD123-directed antibody therapy, and menin inhibitors.

Publication: ASH Clinical NewsOriginal Source: Journal of the National Care InstituteDesign: Assessment of longitudinal changes in memory, attention, and executive function in men and women with lymphoma (n=248; 62.5% male) prior to and six months after initiation of chemotherapy. A group of age- and sex-matched people without cancer was used as a control arm (n=212; 59% male).Results: At baseline, patients with lymphoma self-reported significantly more issues on the FACT-Cog scale (perceived cognitive impairment [PCI] and total scores) compared with sex-matched controls (p<0.05). In addition, patients with lymphoma reported significantly more attentional difficulty (p=0.01) and significantly greater PCI (p<0.03).

Review Publication: Hematology AdvisorDesign: At the Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology, researchers presented a study identifying a higher percentage of patients with germline predisposition syndromes (GPS).Results: Following a review of medical records of patients diagnosed with GPS between 1994 and 2018, the investigators reported that the detection of GPS positively impacted medical care in 91% of cases, including proper selection of a bone marrow donor, selection of drug and conditioning regimens, and genetic counseling.

This is the third edition of the guidelines – the last coming in 2014 – providing a resource and guidance specifically for primary care practitioners about how to plan care for childhood cancer survivors. “A care plan just really encourages coordination, especially if a child has a very complicated post-cancer treatment history with a lot of morbidity,” said Dr. Melissa Hudson, director of the division of cancer survivorship at St. Jude’s and corresponding author of the new guidelines.

About 75% to 80% of children with pediatric AML have clonal, acquired, somatic cytogenetic abnormalities (CAs) detected. Hematology Advisor briefs the information originally appearing in Genes, which reviews the current knowledge on evaluating pediatric patients based on cytogenetics and molecular subtypes to help match patients to risk-adapted therapies.