Gene therapy with elivaldogene autotemcel (BlueBird’s Skysona/eli-cel) has been a miracle for children with the rare disease cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD). Unfortunately, the treatment appears to have caused blood cancer in some patients. Now researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, BlueBird, and their colleagues are sharing new data on this phenomenon. Skysona…

A precision medicine initiative called myeloMATCH is planning to bring targeted therapies to patients from across the U.S. who have acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome, two types of blood cancer that can be difficult to treat. Myeloid Malignancies Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (myeloMATCH) is being run as…

Many patients who receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for blood cancer suffer from stress related to their treatments. Now, a new phone-based positive psychology program called Positive Affect for the Transplantation of Hematopoietic stem cells intervention (PATH), has shown that it can alleviate the stress these patients experience as…

Research led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge suggests that more than one kind of genetic mutation is needed to develop a rare blood cancer known as a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). MPNs are a group of rare blood cancers that involve over production of mature blood…

A strong association between radiation exposure from computed tomography (CT) scans and an increased risk of blood cancers in young people has been found in a multinational study of almost one million patients. The EPI-CT study was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). “In terms of absolute risk, this means that,…

In a move that will mainly strengthen its blood-related cancer portfolio, Sweden’s Sobi will merge with CTI BioPharma. Among other compounds, the deal nets Sobi JAK inhibitor Vonjo (pacritinib) for myelofibrosis, which obtained accelerated approval from the FDA in early 2022. Myelofibrosis has turned into quite a competitive market, which…

An international collaboration of biomedical researchers, led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has identified the TCL1A gene as a driver of clonal expansion of precancerous blood cells and a possible target for blood cancer prevention. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, every three minutes, one person in the United…

A new clinical tool, based on genetic mutations, blood cell parameters, and age, can identify patients with clonal hematopoiesis (CH) who are at greatest risk for developing a myeloid malignancy. Details of the clonal hematopoiesis risk score (CHRS), developed by a team of researchers led by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,…

A new study suggests a new way for hematologic oncologists to protect older patients from the risks of medication interactions. As part of the Older Adult Hematologic Malignancies Program, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute studied the association between older patients with blood cancers who were…

Originally Aired: August 30, 2022Time: 8:00 am PT, 11:00 am ET, 17:00 CET VIEW NOW The World Health Organization and International Clinical Classification recently released an updated classification of Hematolymphoid Malignancies that included the addition of many new molecular and cytogenetic abnormalities. Conventional cytogenetic analysis (karyotyping) has been the primary tool for…

Blood cancer patients have a much more protective antibody response after COVID-19 booster shots, new research from Brown University shows. The study, in Cancer this week, found that less than half of patients with hematologic malignancies mounted detectable antibodies after initial COVID-19 vaccination, but 56% of the non-responders produced antibodies…

A new study in mice models demonstrates that a gene that normally suppresses the formation of tumors is reprogrammed at the onset of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), an aggressive type of blood cancer. The findings, which are published in the journal Genes & Development, pave the way for the development of…

A kind of kiss between cells, called trogocytosis, which can shut down anticancer activity plays a key role in the battle between the immune system and blood cancer cells, suggests early stage research from the University of Ottawa. “Trogocytosis modulates immune responses, with still unclear underlying molecular mechanisms,” the researchers…

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Birmingham, U.K. have published research showing that a defective gene found in about 30% of all blood cancers could be treated by already approved PARP inhibitor drugs. The research, funded in part by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council,…

A new study suggests that a novel regimen of immune-suppressing drugs comprising, cyclophosphamide, abatacept, and tacrolimus, is a better option for graft versus host disease (GvHD) in people being treated for blood cancer. The studies were led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.…