Blood Research

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BACKGROUND: With the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and inability of healthcare systems to control the disease, various therapeutic theories with controversial responses have been proposed. Plasmapheresis was administered as a medication. However, the knowledge of its efficacy and indications is inadequate. This study evaluated the use of plasmapheresis in critically ill patients with cancer. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 86 patients with malignancies, including a control group (N=41) and an intervention group (N=45) with severe COVID-19 during 2020-21...

T-cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia is characterized by clonal expansion of cytotoxic T cells resulting in cytopenia. The proliferation of clonal LGLs is caused by prolonged antigenic stimulation, which leads to apoptotic dysregulation owing mainly to the constitutive activation of survival pathways, notably the JAK/STAT pathway. Understanding how leukemic T-LGL persists can aid in the development of future immunosuppressive therapies. In this review, we summarize the diagnosis and current standard of therapy for T-LGL leukemia, as well as recent advances in clinical trials...

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy are expected to have long-term survival outcomes comparable to those of the general population. Many clinical trials have confirmed that some patients sustain molecular responses without continuing TKI therapy. Treatment-free remission (TFR) is a new goal in treating chronic CML. The safety and outcome of TFR were studied in clinical trials after discontinuing imatinib or the second-generation TKIs dasatinib or nilotinib...

Owing to donor-related issues, blood shortages and transfusion-related adverse reactions have become global issues of grave concern. In vitro manufactured red blood cells (RBCs) are promising substitutes for blood donation. In the United Kingdom, a clinical trial for allogeneic mini transfusion of cultured RBCs derived from primary hematopoietic stem cells has recently begun. However, current production quantities are limited and need improved before clinical use. New methods to enhance manufacturing efficiencies have been explored, including different cell sources, bioreactors, and 3-dimensional (3D) materials; however, further research is required...

BACKGROUND: The goal of induction therapy for multiple myeloma (MM) is to achieve adequate disease control. Current guidelines favor triplet (bortezomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone; VRd) or quadruplet regimens (daratumumab, bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone; D-VTd). In the absence of a direct comparison between two treatment regimens, we conducted this study to compare the outcomes and safety of VRd and D-VTd. METHODS: Newly diagnosed MM patients aged >18 years who underwent induction therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) between November 2020 and December 2021 were identified...

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Increasing knowledge of the molecular features of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is being combined with existing prognostic models based on clinical, laboratory, and cytogenetic information. Mutation-enhanced international prognostic systems (MIPSS) for polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) have improved prognostic assessments. In the case of overt primary myelofibrosis (PMF), the MIPSS70 and its later revisions (MIPSS70+ and MIPSS70+ version 2.0) effectively predicted the overall survival (OS) of patients...

BACKGROUND: In patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE), the literature suggests the overuse of computerized tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and underuse of clinical decision rules before imaging request. This study determined the potential for avoidable CTPA using the modified Wells score (mWS) and D-dimer assay in patients with suspected PE. METHODS: This hospital-based retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 661 consecutive patients with suspected PE who underwent CTPA in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital for the use of a clinical prediction rule (mWS) and D-dimer assay...

BACKGROUND: The clinical phenotype of hemophilia A (HA) does not always correlate with severity. Similarly, the presence of inhibitors does not necessarily increase the risk of bleeding. This paradox between clinical and laboratory findings may be partially attributed to non-modifiable factors, such as blood group, which is known to influence FVIII levels in healthy individuals. Our aim was to assess the effect of ABO blood group antigens on FVIII levels across the severity spectrum of HA and risk of inhibitor development...

With impressive clinical advancements in immune effector cell therapies targeting CD19, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as a new paradigm for treating relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies. Currently, three second-generation CAR T-cell therapies have been approved, of which only tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) is approved for treating children and young adults with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with durable remission rates of approximately 60-90%. Although CAR T-cell therapies are considered to treat refractory B-ALL, they are associated with unique toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS)...

The prognosis of patients with chronic phase (CP) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has significantly improved due to the development of potent BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, approximately 15-20% of patients ultimately experience treatment failure due to resistance or intolerance to TKI therapy. As the prognosis of patients in whom multiple TKIs fail remains poor, an optimal therapeutic approach is required to treat the condition. Asciminib, an allosteric inhibitor that targets ABL1 myristoyl pocket, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in patients with CP-CML resistant or intolerant to ≥2 prior TKIs or those with T315I mutation...

Myelofibrosis (MF) includes primary MF, post-essential thrombocythemia MF, and post-polycythemia vera MF. MF is a progressive myeloid neoplasm characterized by ineffective clonal hematopoiesis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, a reactive bone marrow environment resulting in reticulin deposition and fibrosis, and a propensity for leukemia transformation. The identification of driver mutations in JAK2 , CALR , and MPL has contributed to a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and has led to the development of MF-specific therapies, such as JAK2 inhibitors...

The treatment outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) have dramatically improved with comparable life-expectancy to average of general population in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) era. However, less than a half of patients who started with TKI can remain on frontline TKI. The reasons of switching TKI can be either intolerance or the lack of efficacy. Although a kinase domain (KD) mutation can guide to select salvage TKI from the point of view on the efficacy of TKIs, many factors need to be considered before choosing next-line TKI such as the high-risk features of CML, the adverse events with prior TKI, and the comorbidities of patients...

Mastocytosis is a heterogeneous neoplasm characterized by accumulation of neoplastic mast cells in various organs. There are three main types: cutaneous mastocytosis (CM), systemic mastocytosis (SM), and mast cell sarcoma. CM mainly affects children and is confined to the skin, whereas SM affects adults and is characterized by extracutaneous involvement, with or without cutaneous involvement. Most cases of SM have an indolent clinical course; however, some types of SM have aggressive behavior and a poor prognosis...

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are type I interferon-producing cells that modulate immune responses. There are two types of pDC neoplasms: 1) mature pDC proliferation (MPDCP) associated with myeloid neoplasm and 2) blastic pDC neoplasm (BPDCN). MPDCP is a clonal expansion of mature pDCs that is predominantly associated with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. In contrast, BPDCN is a clinically aggressive myeloid malignancy involving the skin, bone marrow, lymphatic organs, and central nervous system. There are various types of skin lesions, ranging from solitary brown or violaceous to disseminated cutaneous lesions, which often spread throughout the body...

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal disorders of hematopoietic stem cells; these include polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). MPNs are inflammatory cancers, wherein the malignant clone generates cytokines that sustain the inflammatory drive in a self-perpetuating vicious cycle. The course of MPNs follows a biological continuum, that is, from early cancer stages (ET/PV) to advanced myelofibrosis as well as impending leukemic transformation. MPN-related symptoms, e...

Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are a distinct disease entity of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with heterogenous clinical features and prognosis. MF mainly involves skin and usually shows an indolent and favorable clinical course. In patients with advanced-stage disease, extracutaneous involvement including lymph nodes, viscera, and blood, or large cell transformation may be observed. SS is a leukemic form of advanced-stage MF, characterized by generalized erythroderma. Early-stage MF can be treated with skin-directed therapy...

Transfusion is an essential life-sustaining treatment for many patients. However, unnecessary transfusion has been reported to be related to worse patient outcomes. Further, owing to the recent pandemic, blood supply has been more challenging to maintain. Many studies have been conducted to elucidate the optimal transfusion threshold for many clinical conditions, and most suggested that a restrictive transfusion strategy has advantages over a liberal transfusion strategy. Hematologic disorders, which require chronic transfusion in many cases, have not been the main subjects of such studies, and only little evidence is available regarding the optimal transfusion threshold in these patients...

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