HLA-Matched Unrelated Donors for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: Results of International Donor Searches.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited hemoglobinopathy. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is the sole curative therapy for SCD, but few patients will have a matched sibling donor. Patients with SCD are mostly of African origin and thus are less likely to find a matched unrelated donor in international registries.

A Toll-like receptor 2 genetic variant modulates occurrence of bacterial infections in patients with sickle cell disease.

Despite adequate immunization and penicillin prophylaxis, bacterial infections remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Besides hyposplenism, inflammatory and genetic factors might modulate their susceptibility to bacterial infections. We performed a candidate gene association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes, encoding prominent molecules for innate immune responses, with the occurrence of bacterial infections in patients with SCD.

Sickle cell disease: an international survey of results of HLA-identical sibling hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Despite advances in supportive therapy to prevent complications of sickle cell disease (SCD), access to care is not universal. Hematopoietic cell transplantation is, to date, the only curative therapy for SCD, but its application is limited by availability of a suitable HLA-matched donor and lack of awareness of the benefits of transplant. Included in this study are 1000 recipients of HLA-identical sibling transplants performed between 1986 and 2013 and reported to the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Eurocord, and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research.

Modification and implementation of NCCN guidelines on lymphomas in the Middle East and North Africa region.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, cancer has many epidemiologic and clinical features that are different from those in the rest of the world. Additionally, the region has a relatively young population and large disparities in the availability of resources at diagnostic and treatment levels. A critical need exists for regional guidelines on cancer care, including those for lymphoid malignancies.

Fatal Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-infection in a patient with multiple myeloma.

Strongyloides stercoralis (S.S.) is a human intestinal parasite, which may lead to complicated strongyloidiasis.