HCN Oncology Essentials: Identifying Blood Cancer | Treating High-Risk Breast Cancer | COVID-19 Vaccine EffectivenessSeptember 22, 2021 | Oncology Hematology Algorithmic Approach to Identify Patients With Germline Predisposition Syndromes (GPS), Including Those With Hematologic Malignancies 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. Read full article Internal Medicine Assessment of Residual Cancer Burden and Event-Free Survival in Neoadjuvant Treatment for High-Risk Breast Cancer Publication: JAMA Oncology Design: An analysis of data from the I-SPY2 randomized clinical trial that included 938 women with breast cancer.Results: In this randomized clinical trial, the prognostic significance of RCB was consistent regardless of cancer subtype and treatment. Read full article Hematology Cancer Patients See Sustained Response to COVID Vaccine Source: MedPage Today (from JAMA Oncology)Design: Analysis was from a previously published prospective cohort study that evaluated the rates of antibody response to Pfizer’s vaccine in 102 cancer patients who were on active treatment compared with 78 healthy controls. A fourth of the patients were undergoing treatment for lung cancer, 26% for gastrointestinal cancers, and 18% for breast cancer.Results: After four months from the second dose of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, 87% of cancer patients who had been on active treatment continued to produce COVID-19 antibodies. Read full article