Hematology News

Sickle cell disease, the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the United States, is associated with debilitating physical symptoms, including acute pain crises, joint and organ damage, diminished cognitive function and decreased life expectancy.

Among patients with atrial fibrillation on long-term dialysis, oral anticoagulants were not associated with decreased risk for thromboembolism and some of them elevated risk for bleeding, according to a meta-analysis.

Patients hospitalized for HF were found to have significantly elevated long-term risk for venous thromboembolism, regardless of ejection fraction.

The FDA granted rare pediatric disease designation to ARU-1801, an investigational autologous gene therapy, for the treatment of sickle cell disease, according to the agent’s manufacturer.

Since having the good fortune to take on an editorial role for HemOnc Today, I have resisted the temptation to use the January editorial to provide a summary of highlights from ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, or to enter the “reflective zone” at the turn of the year. Both seem a little predictable and formulaic.

ORLANDO — Researchers identified the protein nuclear factor IX as a novel repressor of fetal hemoglobin, a discovery that could lead to the development of new treatments for sickle cell disease, according to data presented at ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Gene therapy with valoctocogene roxaparvovec reduced annualized rates of bleeding events and led to discontinuation of prophylactic factor VIII among patients with hemophilia A, according to results of a prospective study with multiyear follow-up published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Black patients with cancer appeared to be at a higher risk for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism than patients of other races, according to results of a retrospective study published in American Journal of Clinical Oncology.

ORLANDO — Oral supplementation with arginine resulted in faster resolution of pain associated with vaso-occlusive episodes among younger patients with sickle cell disease, according to the results of a randomized phase 2 trial presented at ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.

ORLANDO — Erythroferrone appeared to function as a negative regulator of osteoblast and osteoclast activity, and its loss can result in decreased bone mineral density in beta-thalassemia, according to results of a study presented during the plenary session of ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.