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.

ReachMD offers this CME/video case study on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), new genetic understandings, MET inhibitor use, and presentation with extra muscular manifestations. The program also highlights the challenges healthcare professionals face when it comes to diagnosing this complex condition.

Antibodies against COVID-19 continue to perplex and confound physicians and research scientists. Although people who have gotten COVID-19 or been vaccinated against the respiratory disease develop a humoral immune response that protects them from reinfection, those antibodies decline over time, leaving people vulnerable to reinfection. Understanding why this happens is critically important to modeling how COVID-19 spreads through the general population, including children.

Nearly a third of all Americans (100 million people) have now been infected with COVID-19. And scientific evidence shows that natural immunity from infection is durable and long-lasting. So why is it then that inoculations continue to be pushed for all people regardless of whether they have contracted COVID-19 or not? And why isn’t natural immunity factored into medical decisions about how we prioritize vaccinations?

How could complete silence possibly be considered music (John Cage’s 4’33”), or a blank canvas a masterpiece of art (Robert Rauschenberg’s White Painting)? This oncology medical student explains how after truly listening to a dying patient’s wishes, the student’s silence provided the canvas for the patient’s thoughts, becoming an advocate for his needs: “Silence is not merely the absence of sound but rather an invitation for others to be heard.”

The inaugural report of the ASH Research Collaborative (RC) COVID-19 Registry for Hematology, published in Blood Advances, is based on an analysis of the first 250 patients with both hematologic malignancy and COVID-19 registered from 74 countries. The analysis showed that the mortality risk (28% overall and increased to 42% among hospitalized patients with COVID-19) was heterogenous and unpredictable, further challenging doctors when allocating resources and determining which patients receive intensive care.