Blood Podcast

In this week’s episode we’ll learn how HLA-E-restricted immune responses help control Epstein-Barr virus infection, discuss the activity of NRX-0492 in chronic lymphoblastic leukemia, and learn more about the efficacy of non-steroid inflammatory drugs in the treatment of bone marrow failure associated with Ghosal Hematodiaphyseal Dysplasia.

In this week’s episode we will review a study in sub-Saharan Africa where treatment of sickle cell anemia with hydroxyurea is associated with a lower incidence of malaria. New research suggests mild myelosuppression associated with hydroxyurea treatment may actually have a salutary effect. Next, a potential new treatment approach in lower GI acute GVHD. Adding an interleukin-22 therapy to corticosteroid treatment was well tolerated with a high rate of response in this very challenging patient population. Finally, common AML driver mutations such as FLT3ITD (or internal tandem duplications) orchestrate distinct transcriptional and epigenetic programs based on different genetic contexts. In the context of a common pediatric AML mutation, FLT3ITD selectively activated type I interferon signaling, suggesting a distinct therapeutic vulnerability.

In this week’s episode we’ll discuss how azacytidine therapy influences the contributions of mutated HSC clones to hematopoiesis in MDS and CMML, learn more about the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with adult-type diffuse glioma, and discuss the importance of 1p32 deletions as an independent and adverse prognostic factor in myeloma.

In this week’s episode we will review an imbalance among RUNX1 isoforms is key to the pathogenesis of trisomy 21-associated myeloid leukemia, raising the possibility that equilibrium could be restored genetically or pharmacologically. Next, an RNA aptamer demonstrating promising results in patients with hemophilia A. Lastly, phase 2 data on valemetostat, a selective inhibitor of EZH1 and 2, in relapsed or refractory adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

In this week’s episode, we’ll discuss the findings from a phase 3 trial of PI3Kδ inhibitor leniolisib in activated PI3Kd syndrome, learn more about the efficacy and safety of dabrafenib plus trametinib in relapsed/refractory BRAF V600E mutation-positive hairy cell leukemia, and review the findings from a study conducted in an international cohort of patients with Tγδ LGL leukemia.

In this bonus episode Associate Editor, Dr. Helen Heslop discusses Banked Allogeneic Immune Effector Cells with Blood author Dr. Jeffrey Miller.  Review Series on Banked Allogeneic Immune Effector Cells

In this week’s episode we will first review a new clinical trial evidence that for patients with sickle cell anemia in resource limited settings, both low and moderate dose hydroxyurea are effective for secondary stroke prevention. Next, a research article showing how secreted mutant calreticulin functions as a “rogue cytokine” in myeloproliferative neoplasms, acting in a paracrine manner to promote growth of nearby tumor cells. Finally, we’ll review new research on the pathobiology of adult and pediatric Burkitt lymphoma. With the help of whole-genome sequencing, investigators unraveled distinct subgroups, which may provide a new framework for epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of these lymphomas.

In this week’s episode we’ll discuss the benefits of early diagnosis and hematopoietic stem cell transplant in patients with hypomorphic RAG deficiency, learn more about EBV-driven lymphoid neoplasms associated with pediatric ALL maintenance therapy, and analyze the associations between clonal hematopoiesis and recurrent vascular events and death in patients with ischemic stroke. 

In this week's episode, we’ll discuss the dynamics of measurable residual disease, or MRD, over time in myeloma patients undergoing ixazomib maintenance. Serial measurements were feasible and provided more detailed risk stratification than single timepoint measurements—findings that could have implications for the use of MRD to guide treatment duration. Up next, a research article exploring the relationships between poverty, and lack of neighborhood opportunity, with outcomes of CAR T -cell therapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The findings suggest opportunities for interventions to improve access for less socioeconomically advantaged children. Finally, we’ll review a report demonstrating that acquired mutations in the pro-apoptotic effector protein BAX are common in patients with AML treated with venetoclax. These and other research observations reveal BAX variants as a hurdle to the long-term success of BCL2-targeted therapy in this disease.

In this week's episode, we’ll discuss the safety and efficacy of itacitinib monotherapy in low-risk acute GVHD, learn how ERG was discovered to be a key transcriptional target in EVI1-driven AML, and define a unique subtype of myeloid neoplasms characterized by germline DDX41 mutations.