Hematology News and Research

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Hematology, also spelled haematology, is the branch of biology (physiology), pathology, clinical laboratory, internal medicine, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. Hematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases.

Minihepcidins may potentially treat serious genetic blood diseases in children, adults

New research suggests that synthetic peptides called minihepcidins may potentially treat two serious genetic blood diseases in children and adults. Although those diseases, beta-thalassemia and polycythemia vera, have opposite effects on red blood cell production, treating animals with minihepcidin helps to restore normal levels of red blood cells and reduces spleen enlargement. It also controls the accumulation of excess levels of iron in beta-thalassemia that often causes severe toxic effects.

9 May 2016

Expanding gene panel beyond known breast/ovarian cancer genes does not add any clinical benefit

Running large, multi-gene sequencing panels to assess cancer risk is a growing trend in medicine as the price of the technology declines and more precise approaches to cancer care gain steam. The tests are particularly common among breast and ovarian cancer patients. However, questions remain about the growing list of mutations and their suspected, but unproven association with breast and ovarian cancer risk.

6 May 2016

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may not reduce colorectal cancer risk

Long-term use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins does not appear to decrease a patient's risk of colorectal cancer, suggests a new, large case-control study from Penn Medicine researchers published this week in PLOS Medicine.

27 Apr 2016

Bosutinib shows 'low' vascular, cardiac event risk profile

Third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor study findings suggest that bosutinib is associated with a low risk of vascular and cardiac events in patients undergoing first-line or subsequent treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia.

21 Apr 2016

Novel gene therapy can improve symptoms of Bubble Boy disease in young adults

Adolescents and young adults with a severe inherited immunodeficiency disorder improved following treatment with novel gene therapy developed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The results of this study appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

21 Apr 2016

Experimental treatment shrinks rare pediatric tumor by 90%

When a baby's life was threatened by a rare pediatric cancer that would not respond to surgery or chemotherapy, doctors at Nemours Children's Hospital rapidly, successfully shrank the tumor by 90 percent using an experimental treatment, according to a new study published online in Pediatric Blood and Cancer.

20 Apr 2016

Studies confirm benefit of plasma genotyping to predict treatment outcomes for NSCLC patients

The benefit of plasma genotyping to predict treatment benefit in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is confirmed in three studies presented today at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. Researchers however warned that plasma tests are unlikely to fully replace tissue biopsies.

18 Apr 2016

Epigenomics receives FDA approval for Epi proColon®

Epigenomics AG, the German-American cancer molecular diagnostics company, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s lead product, Epi proColon®, the first and only FDA-approved blood-based colorectal cancer screening test.

14 Apr 2016

FDA approves Defitelio to treat hepatic veno-occlusive disease in adults, children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Defitelio (defibrotide sodium) to treat adults and children who develop hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) with additional kidney or lung abnormalities after they receive a stem cell transplant from blood or bone marrow called hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

31 Mar 2016

Researchers to discuss on innovative cellular therapies during EBMT meeting

Cellular Therapy is an emerging medical science that is today facing a unique developmental phase, well documented by the outstanding and growing numbers of clinical trials.

30 Mar 2016

CCCBD offers promising new investigational therapy to treat childhood ALL

The Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles is one of the first sites in the world to offer a promising new investigational therapy to treat pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

30 Mar 2016

KAIST researchers develop bio-medical imaging tool to view, analyze live cells

Professor YongKeun Park of the Physics Department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and his research team have developed a powerful method for 3D imaging of live cells without staining. The researchers announced the launch of their new microscopic tool, the holotomography (HT)-1, to the global marketplace through a Korean start-up that Professor Park co-founded, TomoCube.

29 Mar 2016

Simple tips to help parents and children lead a healthy life

Obesity is almost at epidemic proportions; it has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years nationwide. Rosa Cataldo, DO, MPH, Director of the Healthy Weight & Wellness Center at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, says that the most effective approach to addressing weight loss in children are lifestyle-based modifications that involve parents.

26 Mar 2016

Metabolite in gut microbiome could improve outcomes after bone marrow transplant

Could playing better defense make bone marrow transplants more successful? With this question in mind, researchers began looking at whether the trillions of little bugs and bacteria living in our gastrointestinal tract could be the key to playing defense.

22 Mar 2016

Novel compound shows promise as potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

A novel compound has shown promise in preclinical studies as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, more than doubling median days of survival even in a drug-resistant form of the disease.

21 Mar 2016

Newly developed computer models can simulate stem cell transplant recovery

Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have developed computer models that can simulate the recovery of the immune system in patients undergoing stem cell transplants.

18 Mar 2016

FDA approves Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat patients with ROS-1 positive NSCLC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat people with advanced (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have an ROS-1 gene alteration. Xalkori is the first and only FDA approved treatment for patients with ROS-1 positive NSCLC.

13 Mar 2016

Wake Forest Baptist offers DigniCap scalp cooling system to breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the first medical center in the United States to offer the FDA-cleared DigniCap scalp cooling system to patients undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

11 Mar 2016

Popular kidney cancer drugs do not reduce incidence of recurrence

Two widely used targeted therapy drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic kidney cancer—sorafenib and sunitinib—are no more effective than a placebo in preventing return of the disease to increase life spans of patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer after surgery, according to a new multi-institutional study in the Lancet led by a researcher at the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Mar 2016

RUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules approved for treatment-naïve CLL patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules for treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

4 Mar 2016