Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health to Unveil Pioneering Blood Cancer Research at the 66th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition

Physician-scientists from Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health will showcase a diverse range of hematology/oncology data from their clinical research program at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, being held in San Diego, California (and online) from December 7-10, 2024.

Yale Cancer Center to Highlight Breakthroughs in Blood Cancers and Disorders at World’s Largest Hematology Meeting

Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers at Yale School of Medicine will present new research at the 66th annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego, Calif., December 7-10. Known as “the premier event in classical and malignant hematology”, the ASH meeting includes oral and poster presentations, as well as workshops and educational sessions for hematology professionals and advocates.

Third Elaine Redding Brinster Prize Awarded for Development of Sickle Cell Disease Therapy

For his work discovering the basis for hemoglobin gene switching and applying those insights to develop a therapy for sickle cell disease and other blood diseases, the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania awarded Stuart Orkin, MD the third Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine.

Sickle Cell Disease Continues to Face Underfunding, Lack of Research

Over the years, dedicated sickle cell disease programs and research initiatives have greatly improved patient care and life expectancy. But, giving these patients the care they require still presents a number of challenges, including inadequate funding for sickle cell programs, lack of research, and limited access to healthcare.

CHOP and Penn Medicine Researchers Develop “In Vivo” RNA-based Gene Editing Model for Blood Disorders

In a step forward in the development of genetic medicines, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a proof-of-concept model for delivering gene editing tools to treat blood disorders, allowing for the modification of diseased blood cells directly within the body. If translated into the clinic, this approach could expand access and reduce the cost of gene therapies for blood disorders, many of which currently require patients receive chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. The findings were published today in the journal Science.

Portable Tool to Diagnose and Monitor Sickle Cell Disease Receives U.S. Patent

A new tool will enable patients with sickle cell disease to reliably and conveniently monitor their disease in the same way patients with diabetes can monitor their disease using a glucometer. The goal of managing this inherited, lifelong blood disorder is to prevent acute, painful crises due to sickling and unsickling of red blood cells.

Novel Gene Therapy Proving Safe and Successful in Sickle Cell Patients Treated at Cleveland Clinic Children’s

Researchers presenting preliminary data from a clinical trial aimed at discovering a cure for sickle cell disease reveal positive results among its first patients. Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder, is a painful and debilitating condition for which there are few approved therapies.

Treatment cost analysis highlights systemic health inequities faced by persons with sickle cell disease

A new distributional cost-effectiveness analysis of gene therapy versus standard-of-care for sickle cell disease (SCD) found that while gene therapy is cost-ineffective by conventional measures, it can be an equitable therapeutic strategy for persons living with SCD in the United States when equity, cost, and value of treatment are considered together. These findings highlight systemic health inequities faced by persons with sickle cell disease (SCD). The authors say this is the first quantitative consideration of health equity for patients with SCD regarding the decision between gene therapy and standard care and the first study of its kind in any rare disease.

UC San Diego Health Recognized for Health Equity in Care of Sickle Cell Crisis

UC San Diego Health has been awarded the prestigious 2022 California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems Quality Leaders Award in the category of health equity.

CHOP Researchers Develop Proof-of-Concept Treatment that Elevates Both Adult and Fetal Hemoglobin

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a proof-of-concept treatment for blood disorders like sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia that could raise hemoglobin levels by activating production of both fetal and adult hemoglobin. Using a viral vector engineered to reactivate fetal hemoglobin production, suppress mutant hemoglobin, and supply functional adult hemoglobin, the researchers developed an approach that could produce more hemoglobin through a single vector. The results were published in Haematologica.

Mount Sinai Ophthalmologists Develop New Technique to Assess Progression of Sickle Cell Retinopathy

(New York, NY – May 10, 2021)- Ophthalmologists at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai have created a new technique to evaluate patients with sickle cell retinopathy and assess the disease before it progresses and leads to…

Gut Microbiome Translates Stress Into Sickle Cell Crises

A new study shows how chronic psychological stress leads to painful vessel-clogging episodes—the most common complication of sickle-cell disease (SCD) and a frequent cause of hospitalizations. The findings, made in mice, show that the gut microbiome plays a key role in triggering those episodes and reveals possible ways to prevent them. The research was conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and published online today in Immunity.

NIH announces $1 million prize competition to target global disease diagnostics

The National Institutes of Health has launched a $1 million Technology Accelerator Challenge (TAC) to spur the design and development of non-invasive, handheld, digital technologies to detect, diagnose and guide therapies for diseases with high global and public health impact. The Challenge is focused on sickle cell disease, malaria and anemia and is led by NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).

While Promoting Diseases Like Cancer, These Enzymes Also Cannibalize Each Other

In diseases like cancer, atherosclerosis, and sickle cell anemia, cathepsins promote their propagation. Drug trials to inhibit these enzymes have failed due to baffling side effects. Now a new study examines cathepsins in systems to remove some of the bafflement.

Yale Cancer Center researchers show identifying type of chronic pain in adults with sickle cell disease may lead to better outcomes

Identifying the type of pain an adult with sickle cell disease (SCD) experiences may be useful in improving treatment, according to a new study by researchers at Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Smilow Cancer Hospital.

Likelihood of Prenatal Screening for Blood Disorders Varies Between Type of Healthcare Provider

A Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey investigator and other collaborators examined prenatal screening practices for blood disorders between different types of care providers and found different variations in prenatal guidance.