Pembrolizumab in a Patient with Treatment-Naïve Unresectable BRAF-Mutation Negative Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

Immune check point inhibitor (ICI) therapy can be a potentially effective salvage treatment for anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) with progression despite standard of care therapies. We report a case of unresectable treatment-naïve ATC showing a dramatic and durable response to first-line pembrolizumab therapy. A 69-year-old male presented with a large, right-sided neck mass associated with compressive symptoms.

Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia Associated With Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the resultant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are associated with several hematologic abnormalities, including immune thrombocytopenia, antiphospholipid syndrome, and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Initial case reports suggested immune dysregulation to be the underlying etiology of SARS-CoV-2-associated AIHA, as all reported cases involved patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, many of whom had underlying lymphoproliferative disorders. More recently, AIHA has been reported in patients with mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Hodgkin lymphoma arising in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: outcomes from a large multi-center collaboration.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients who develop Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) have limited survival. No current therapeutic standard of care exists. We conducted a multi-center retrospective study of patients with Hodgkin Transformation (HT) of CLL.

Practice Patterns in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Polycythemia Vera in the Post-JAK2 V617F Discovery Era.

Polycythemia vera (PV) is an acquired clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder characterized by an overproduction of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications; and an increased risk of transformation to myelofibrosis and acute leukemia. In 1967, the Polycythemia Vera Study Group proposed the optimal approach to diagnosis and treatment of PV, and in 2002, investigators from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine surveyed the practice patterns of hematologists as they pertained to PV. Since this survey, the JAK2 V617F mutation was discovered, leading to a new era of discovery in the disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, and classification and treatment of PV.

Bleeding complications in BCR-ABL negative myeloproliferative neoplasms: prevalence, type, and risk factors in a single-center cohort.

The BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) share an increased risk of thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications. Risk factors for hemorrhage are less well defined than those for thrombosis. Because patients with CALR mutations have higher platelet counts compared to JAK2 V617F-mutated patients, bleeding rates may be increased in this group.

PAX3/7 expression coincides with MyoD during chronic skeletal muscle overload.

Paired box (Pax) proteins 3 and 7 are key determinants for embryonic skeletal muscle development by initiating myogenic regulatory factor (MRF) gene expression. We show that Pax3 and 7 participate in adult skeletal muscle plasticity during the initial responses to chronic overload (< or =7 days) and appear to coordinate MyoD expression, a member of the MRF family of genes. Pax3 and 7 mRNA were higher than control within 12 h after initiation of overload, preceded the increase in MyoD mRNA on day 1, and peaked on day 2.