In an integrated analysis of mutations and clinical outcomes, comprising 2,200 patients with TP53-mutated myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with excess blasts (EB) or TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the authors state that mutant TP53 AML and MDS-EB “do not differ with respect to molecular characteristics and survival” and argue these entities should be considered a single molecular disease entity. In a commentary to the above paper, TP53 and the star-crossed lovers MDS and AML, John Welch, MD, PhD of Washington University School of Medicine writes, “As a junior Hematology/Oncology fellow, I was told there were two types of physicians: splitters and mergers. That is, clinicians either seek to diagnose increasingly homogenously narrow groups of patients based on increasingly refined, shared characteristics, or they seek to find broad, overarching patterns that unite diagnostic classifications. Hematologic malignancies have been fertile ground for the diagnostic splitters of the world. On the other hand, there have been some noteworthy exceptions. Sometimes it is a technological advance that allows for the synthesis of disparate diagnoses.”

This international consortium of oncologists and researcher describe the advantages and limitations of both conventional chromosome banding and novel sequencing technologies. They state, “While one single test may not replace the totality of tests that currently exist, the active exploration and adoption of novel approaches in defined clinical settings may indeed allow for a continued and controlled evolution resulting in the successful clinical implementation of whole genome sequencing in the near future.”

Predictive biomarkers are needed to identify patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) that could enjoy treatment de-escalation, with the attendant reduction in incidence of acute and late toxicities. In an observational study of consecutive patients with patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count was predictive for 5-year overall survival. It also predicted benefit from the use of concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy.

A 12-year odyssey of a cancer drug that works in a subcellular organelle: From discovery of a unique and promising tumor target – featured on the cover of the Journal of Clinical Investigation – through startup company, grant-writing, DoD funding, Wall Street disinterest, perseverance, and finally, approval to initiate clinical trials.

Follow this case study of a 71-year-old man found to have significant, asymptomatic hypokalemia discovered in routine outpatient lab work. How would you manage this patient?

Walking exercises have been found to improve outcomes for people suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD). Specifically, among adults with PAD and intermittent claudication, a home-based, walking exercise behavior change intervention, compared with usual care, resulted in improved walking distance at three months. However, authors of the JAMA study concluded that further research is needed to determine the durability of these findings.