|
The following reflects new findings and outcomes in medical research as presented at major medical meetings and published peer-reviewed medical journals. In this section members can view reports from important congresses as well as summaries of some recently published journal articles. Please let us know if you have a particular area of interest you would like to see covered. PRIORITY PRESS - 15th Congress of the European Hematology Association Update on the Treatment of Iron OverloadBarcelona, Spain / June 10-13, 2010 Barcelona - Patients who become transfusion-dependent due to chronic anemia are highly predisposed to iron overload and iron overload in turn is toxic to many organs. Guidelines indicate that patients with high serum ferritin concentrations should receive iron chelation to reduce iron stores and help preserve organ function. New data presented here at the EHA demonstrate that a once-daily oral iron chelator is both efficacious and well-tolerated, thereby improving patient satisfaction with (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 15th Congress of the European Hematology Association Novel Agents Significantly Improve Outcomes in Multiple MyelomaBarcelona, Spain / June 10-13, 2010 Barcelona - Novel agents, including a proteasome inhibitor and two immunomodulatory drugs, are changing the therapeutic landscape for multiple myeloma. Unlike in the past, the goal of treatment today is to attain complete remission. Treatment is still highly individualized, based on both patient and disease characteristics; but some novel agents may be able to overcome classic resistance to treatment and triple therapy. Combinations that include at least one novel agent are leading to (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 36th Annual Meeting of the European Group for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) New Antifungal Strategies in High-risk Stem Cell Transplant RecipientsVienna, Austria / March 21-24, 2010 Vienna - Although Candida infection is still probably the most widespread fungal infection in a surgical setting, Aspergillus and other mold pathogens are a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. In allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), patients are at particular risk of mold infections, which are often fatal. Novel formulations of existing strategies and new azoles—active against Aspergillus species, all with different spectrums of (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 36th Annual Meeting of the European Group for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) Progress in Infection Management of Allogeneic Stem Cell RecipientsVienna, Austria / March 21-24, 2010 Vienna - In the last 10 years, widespread use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has decreased the risk of recurrence in patients with aggressive hematological malignancies. However, the associated conditioning and immunosuppressive regimens have given rise to extremely neutropenic patients who are at risk of a range of opportunistic infections or reactivation of infectious processes. On recovery from neutropenia, patients may suffer graft-vs.-host disease (also (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology Iron Overload Management: Potential for Improved Survival in Patients with MDSNew Orleans, Louisiana / December 5-8, 2009 New Orleans - A series of studies have underscored the importance of evaluating and treating iron overload in selected patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), including one that reinforces the likelihood of a survival advantage if serum iron levels are brought into an acceptable range. The data in MDS, generated by three separate trials, have become available at the same time as five-year efficacy and safety data in patients with beta thalassemia were reported with an oral iron (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology Enhanced Directives for Anticoagulation in Cancer PatientsNew Orleans, Louisiana / December 5-8, 2009 New Orleans - Prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) has now been endorsed for hospitalized cancer patients without a bleeding contraindication by a broad array of influential medical organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The guidelines are driven by evidence that VTE is one of the leading causes of preventable death in this population. To prevent VTE in hospitalized patients or to treat patients who develop a VTE, the guidelines identify low (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology New Strategies for Identifying Anti-FVIII Antibodies in Patients with HemophiliaNew Orleans, Louisiana / December 5-8, 2009 New Orleans - In patients with hemophilia, new and more sensitive strategies for identifying factor VIII (FVIII) antibodies may better characterize the immune response that often defeats recombinant FVIII therapies. The standard test has been the Bethesda assay, which measures FVIII activity relative to a control and deduces the presence of antibodies based on functional impairment, but this is non-sensitive. In a series of studies conducted by Canadian investigators, an ELISA-based assay (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology Optimizing Multiple Myeloma Induction and Maintenance Therapies in the ElderlyNew Orleans, Louisiana / December 5-8, 2009 New Orleans - The standard of care for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in elderly patients, who cannot usually tolerate high-dose therapy, was recently revised from a two-drug combination of melphalan and prednisone (MP) to a three-drug combination with the addition of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. The change in the standard was based on a survival benefit from the three-drug regimen in a landmark trial. However, new studies have generated additional information about the (...) Read more... MEDICAL FRONTIERS - XXII Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis VTE Treatment and Prophylaxis: Strategies for Improved InterventionBoston, Massachusetts / July 11-16, 2009 Boston - Thromboprophylaxis is considered a high priority safety intervention in hospitalized patients. In patients with cancer, the incidence and recurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) are more common. While several studies have demonstrated that prophylaxis significantly reduced VTE in hospitalized and surgical oncology patients, adequate prophylaxis in this patient group is still reported to be at an average of 16%. Recent recommendations state that all hospitalized cancer patients (...) Read more... PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVE - Viewpoint based on presentations from the Toronto Myelodysplastic Syndromes Symposium: Progress and Challenges Pathophysiology of Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Treatment Strategies to Change its Natural HistoryToronto, Ontario / May 21-22, 2009 INTRODUCTION
MEDICAL FRONTIERS - 35th Annual Meeting of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Secondary Prevention of Invasive Fungal Infections in Stem-cell Transplant PatientsGöteborg, Sweden / March 29-April 1, 2009 Göteborg - The risk of recurrence of a previous invasive fungal infection (IFI) or acquisition of a new one is a major obstacle to the success of stem-cell transplantation (SCT). These infections are increasing in frequency and the majority of them are now due to Aspergillus species. Historically, mortality rates from these infections have been high, but are now decreasing with earlier diagnosis and more effective therapy. A recent recategorization of data from the 2002 Global Comparative (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 50th Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the American Society of Hematology New Options in VTE Prophylaxis in the Surgical SettingSan Francisco, California / December 6-9, 2008 San Francisco - Major orthopedic surgery, such as total hip or knee replacement, confers a recognized risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. To prevent VTE, clinicians traditionally have treated patients with unfractionated heparin, warfarin or low molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in the perioperative period and in the days immediately following surgery. Recently, a new class of anticoagulants has become available, the Factor Xa (...) Read more... Critical Care Canada Forum Echinocandins in the ICU: A Clinical AdvanceToronto, Ontario / November 11-13, 2008 Toronto - Candidemia/invasive candidiasis is common in hospitalized patients, and its deleterious effects are particularly evident in the intensive care unit (ICU). Until recently, these infections were associated with mortality rates of approximately 40%, but new echinocandins have decreased mortality rates to below 30%. A randomized study published last year indicated one of the newest echinocandins produced a significantly higher global response rate at the end of intravenous therapy (...) Read more... 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology Guidelines Support for Low Molecular-weight Heparin for Long-term Recurrent VTE Prevention in Cancer PatientsStockholm, Sweden / September 12-16, 2008 Stockholm - The risk posed by cancer for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and pulmonary embolism appears to be insufficiently appreciated. In patients hospitalized for cancer, anticoagulation is a recognized standard of care, but the much longer periods of prophylaxis required in patients who develop VTE appear to be offered less frequently. According to guidelines issued by both the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), six months of (...) Read more... 13th Congress of the European Hematology Association Prevention and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolic Disorders: Future NeedsCopenhagen, Denmark / June 12-15, 2008 Copenhagen - Total hip and knee replacement orthopedic surgery patients are in the highest risk category for venous thromboembolic (VTE) sequelae, both deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, and the risk is known to extend well beyond the hospitalization period. Thromboembolic disorders are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 10% of all hospital deaths. Although current guidelines invariably recommend extended duration anticoagulant prophylaxis, experts at (...) Read more... XXVIII International Congress of the World Federation of Hemophilia Evolution of Recombinant Factor VIII: Progress in Patient SafetyIstanbul, Turkey / June 1-5, 2008 Istanbul - A variety of recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) products are now available to treat patients with hemophilia A. Product safety has improved since the initial use of human and mammalian proteins in first-generation processes. Even less potentially risky second-generation processes still employ some mammalian proteins, however. Third-generation processes provide further improvements and no longer require any use of human or bovine albumin. Additional modifications include the development (...) Read more... XXVIII International Congress of the World Federation of Hemophilia Improving Quality of Life in Patients with Hemophilia with InhibitorsIstanbul, Turkey / June 1-5, 2008 Istanbul - The development of antibodies occurs frequently in patients with severe hemophilia A or B, complicating both on-demand and prophylactic treatment. Recommended treatment options include activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC) and recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa). Single-dose treatment with rFVIIa improves treatment compliance and its use as on-demand treatment of bleeds in the real world is being evaluated in an ongoing clinical study of effective hemostasis and (...) Read more... 49th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology Less Toxic Broad-Spectrum Antifungals: Facilitating Infection Control in Hematological MalignanciesAtlanta, Georgia / December 8-11, 2007 Atlanta - The substantial morbidity and mortality imposed by invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies can be largely contained by a high index of suspicion and early use of broad-spectrum antifungal drugs. While amphotericin B was once the empirical treatment of choice when virulent pathogens were considered likely, numerous studies have now demonstrated that newer azole antifungals are at least as effective but better tolerated. Due to a shift in prevalence (...) Read more... 49th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology From First-line to Consolidation Therapies: Exploring Options in Hematologic MalignanciesAtlanta, Georgia / December 8-11, 2007 Editorial Overview Joseph M. Connors, MD, ABIM, FRCPC
49th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology Extending Time to Progression in Refractory Multiple Myeloma with Novel RegimensAtlanta, Georgia / December 8-11, 2007 Atlanta - After substantial progress in the development of more effective front-line therapies for multiple myeloma (MM), the standard for treatment of refractory disease is now also evolving. New findings indicate that meaningful improvements in outcome can be achieved with combination regimens over those achieved with a single agent. On the basis of a multicentre phase III study, a novel two-drug regimen has been newly established in refractory MM, but other protocols, including a (...) Read more...
Page 1 of 2
( 1
|
2
)
|