BJH - 2022, issue SPECIAL, april 2022
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
Autoimmune haemolytic anaemias (AIHAs) are rare and heterogeneous disorders characterised by the destruction of red blood cells through warm or cold antibodies. During a special lecture during the 2022 BHS GAM, Prof. Marc Michel (Henri-Mondor University Hospital, Paris-Est Créteil, France) gave an overview of the diagnostic and treatment landscape for AIHA anno 2022. The incidence of AIHA runs from 1.8-2.4/100,000 individuals each year, with an increasing incidence in the last decade. The median age at onset for patients with warm AIHA (wAIHA) is 58 years, while cold agglutinin disease (CAD) mainly effects older patients (median age at onset of 67 years). AIHA patients are at a high risk of mortality and thrombosis.1
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A. Enguita PhD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
High-risk haematology patients present with a partial or totally disintegrated immune system. Consequently, infections remain one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among these patients. During the 37th general annual meeting of the Belgian Haematology Society, Prof. Johan Maertens (University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium), walked us through the current advances in the management of infections in high-risk haematology patients, with a focus on patients undergoing aggressive chemotherapy for any type of leukaemia and allogenic non-transplanted siblings.
Read moreBJH - 2022, issue SPECIAL, april 2022
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
In recent years, we have witnessed many advances in laboratory technology to detect germline or somatic mutations that predispose individuals to the development of haematopoietic malignancies. The laboratory technology session during the BHS GAM kicked off with a presentation from Dr. Ann Debecker explaining the differences between CHIP, CHOP and ARCH. In a second lecture of the laboratory technology session, Dr. Ine Moors provided a contemporary overview on genetic predisposition for myeloid malignancies.
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A. Enguita PhD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
Myelofibrosis (MF) is a chronic malignancy characterised by marrow fibrosis and myeloproliferation caused by a constitutive activation of the Janus-activated kinase (JAK) transcription signalling pathway. This constitutive activation is usually the result of mutations in the driver genes JAK2, myeloproliferative leukaemia virus (MPL) or calreticulin (CALR).1 The most important clinical manifestation of MF consists of splenomegaly, in addition to hepatomegaly, cytopenia (mainly anaemia), and constitutional symptoms.2 MF significantly decreases the life expectancy of patients with a median survival of less than six years.3 During the 37th general annual meeting of the Belgian Haematology Society, professor Jean-Jacques Kiladjian (Saint Louis Hospital, Paris, France) discussed the contemporary management of this disease.
Read moreBJH - 2021, issue SPECIAL, january 2021
V. Labarque MD, PhD
In recent years we have witnessed a growing interest in the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Advances in general medical care, early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment have led to substantial improvements in the life expectancy of individuals with SCD in high-income countries. During her lecture at the 2021 annual meeting of the BHS, Prof. Veerle Labarque gave an overview on the current treatment landscape for adult SCD patients.
Read moreBJH - 2021, issue SPECIAL, january 2021
Prof A. Rijneveld
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a rare disease with the highest incidence in childhood and patients older then 60 years. While the long-term outcomes of ALL have improved significantly in the paediatric population and to a lesser extent in young adults, elderly patients still have a very poor prognosis.1,2 In fact, half of all deaths from ALL occur in patients older than 55 years and their 5-year overall survival (OS) rate ranges from 10–20%.3,4 During the 36th general annual meeting of the Belgian Haematology Society Prof. Anita Rijneveld, from the Erasmus Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, gave an overview of recent advances in the treatment of adults ALL patients.
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T. Tousseyn MD, PhD
The diagnosis of lymphomas requires multiple immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses in combination with additional tests, such as fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. During his lecture at the 2021 BHS general annual meeting, Dr. Thomas Touseyn discussed the contemporary role of the pathologist in the diagnostic work-up of aggressive lymphomas.
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