A high-throughput sequencing test for diagnosing inherited bleeding, thrombotic, and platelet disorders.

Inherited bleeding, thrombotic, and platelet disorders (BPDs) are diseases that affect ∼300 individuals per million births. With the exception of hemophilia and von Willebrand disease patients, a molecular analysis for patients with a BPD is often unavailable. Many specialized tests are usually required to reach a putative diagnosis and they are typically performed in a step-wise manner to control costs. This approach causes delays and a conclusive molecular diagnosis is often never reached, which can compromise treatment and impede rapid identification of affected relatives. To address this unmet diagnostic need, we designed a high-throughput sequencing platform targeting 63 genes relevant for BPDs. The platform can call single nucleotide variants, short insertions/deletions, and large copy number variants (though not inversions) which are subjected to automated filtering for diagnostic prioritization, resulting in an average of 5.34 candidate variants per individual. We sequenced 159 and 137 samples, respectively, from cases with and without previously known causal variants. Among the latter group, 61 cases had clinical and laboratory phenotypes indicative of a particular molecular etiology, whereas the remainder had an a priori highly uncertain etiology. All previously detected variants were recapitulated and, when the etiology was suspected but unknown or uncertain, a molecular diagnosis was reached in 56 of 61 and only 8 of 76 cases, respectively. The latter category highlights the need for further research into novel causes of BPDs. The ThromboGenomics platform thus provides an affordable DNA-based test to diagnose patients suspected of having a known inherited BPD.This study, including the enrollment of cases, sequencing, and analysis received support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource–Rare Diseases. The NIHR BioResource is funded by the NIHR (http://www.nihr.ac.uk). Research in the Ouwehand Laboratory is also supported by grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the British Heart Foundation, the British Society of Haematology, the European Commission, the MRC, the NIHR, and the Wellcome Trust; the laboratory also receives funding from National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The clinical fellows received funding from the MRC (C.L. and S.K.W.); the NIHR–Rare Diseases Translational Research Collaboration (S. Sivapalaratnam); and the British Society for Haematology and National Health Service Blood and Transplant (T.K.B.).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Society of Hematology via http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2015-12-688267

Rituximab plus chlorambucil as first-line treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Final analysis of an open-label phase II study.

PURPOSE Most patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are elderly and/or have comorbidities that may make them ineligible for fludarabine-based treatment. For this population, chlorambucil monotherapy is an appropriate therapeutic option; however, response rates with chlorambucil are low, and more effective treatments are needed. This trial was designed to assess how the addition of rituximab to chlorambucil (R-chlorambucil) would affect safety and efficacy in patients with CLL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with first-line CLL were treated with rituximab (375 mg/m(2) on day 1, cycle one, and 500 mg/m(2) thereafter) plus chlorambucil (10 mg/m(2)/d all cycles; day 1 through 7) for six 28-day cycles. For patients not achieving complete response (CR), six additional cycles of chlorambucil alone could be administered. The primary end point of the study was safety. RESULTS A total of 100 patients were treated with R-chlorambucil, with a median follow-up of 30 months. Median age of patients was 70 years (range, 43 to 86 years), with patients having a median of seven comorbidities. Hematologic toxicities accounted for most grade 3/4 adverse events reported, with neutropenia and lymphopenia both occurring in 41% of patients and leukopenia in 23%. Overall response rates were 84%, with CR achieved in 10% of patients. Median progression-free survival was 23.5 months; median overall survival was not reached. CONCLUSION These results compare favorably with previously published results for chlorambucil monotherapy, suggesting that the addition of rituximab to chlorambucil may improve efficacy with no unexpected adverse events. R-chlorambucil may improve outcome for patients who are ineligible for fludarabine-based treatments

Illustrated State-of-the-Art Capsules of the ISTH 2019 Congress in Melbourne, Australia : Plasminogen in wound healing

The 27th Congress of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) is an international conference held July 6-10, 2019, in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, Australia. The ISTH congress has previously been held every other year, with the Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC) meeting held annually, until 2019 when it became one combined annual meeting of the ISTH and SSC. The conference covers clinical and basic aspects of hemostasis and thrombosis, and this year includes 5 Plenary lectures and >50 State of Art (SOA) lectures, presented by internationally recognized speakers, as well as numerous oral session and poster presentations selected from submitted abstracts, including many early career and reach the world support recipients. This SOA review article in RPTH contains concise Illustrated Review Articles or 'Capsules' consisting of short text, three references and a figure, with topics including stroke, cancer-associated thrombosis, hemophilia, coagulation, the interface between infection and inflammation, and in the experimental and discovery areas, megakaryocyte biology and platelet production, structure-function of key receptors and coagulation factors, and emerging new roles for thrombotic/hemostatic factors. Together, these articles highlight novel findings which will advance knowledge and with the potential to change clinical practice and improve outcomes. It is hoped that conference attendees and followers will enjoy utilizing the images for ongoing education and during the conference for live tweeting during sessions, to assist in the broadcasting and promotion of the science to those unable to attend, or who have chosen to attend a concurrent session. Use #IllustratedReview and #ISTH2019 on social media

Illustrated State-of-the-Art Capsules of the ISTH 2019 Congress in Melbourne, Australia

The 27th Congress of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) is an international conference held July 6-10, 2019, in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, Australia. The ISTH congress has previously been held every other year, with the Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC) meeting held annually, until 2019 when it became one combined annual meeting of the ISTH and SSC. The conference covers clinical and basic aspects of hemostasis and thrombosis, and this year includes 5 Plenary lectures and >50 State of Art (SOA) lectures, presented by internationally recognized speakers, as well as numerous oral session and poster presentations selected from submitted abstracts, including many early career and reach the world support recipients. This SOA review article in RPTH contains concise Illustrated Review Articles or 'Capsules' consisting of short text, three references and a figure, with topics including stroke, cancer-associated thrombosis, hemophilia, coagulation, the interface between infection and inflammation, and in the experimental and discovery areas, megakaryocyte biology and platelet production, structure-function of key receptors and coagulation factors, and emerging new roles for thrombotic/hemostatic factors. Together, these articles highlight novel findings which will advance knowledge and with the potential to change clinical practice and improve outcomes. It is hoped that conference attendees and followers will enjoy utilizing the images for ongoing education and during the conference for live tweeting during sessions, to assist in the broadcasting and promotion of the science to those unable to attend, or who have chosen to attend a concurrent session. Use #IllustratedReview and #ISTH2019 on social media.status: publishe

A comprehensive high-throughput sequencing test for the diagnosis of inherited bleeding, thrombotic and platelet disorders

Inherited bleeding, thrombotic and platelet disorders (BPDs) are diseases affecting approximately 300 individuals per million births. With the exception of haemophilia and von Willebrand disease patients, a molecular analysis for patients with a BPD is often unavailable. Many specialised tests are usually required to reach a putative diagnosis and they are typically performed in a step-wise manner to control costs. This approach causes delays and a conclusive molecular diagnosis is often never reached which can compromise treatment and impede rapid identification of affected relatives. To address this unmet diagnostic need, we designed a high-throughput sequencing (HTS) platform targeting 63 genes relevant for BPDs. The platform can call single nucleotide variants (SNVs), short insertions/deletions (indels) and large copy number variants (CNVs), though not inversions, which are subjected to automated filtering for diagnostic prioritization, resulting in an average of 5.34 candidate variants per individual. We sequenced 159 and 137 samples respectively from cases with and without previously known causal variants. Among the latter group, 61 cases had clinical and laboratory phenotypes indicative of a particular molecular etiology while the remainder had ana priorihighly uncertain etiology. All previously detected variants were recapitulated and, when the etiology was suspected but unknown or uncertain, a molecular diagnosis was reached in 56 of 61 and only eight of 76 cases, respectively. The latter category highlights the need for further research into novel causes of BPDs. The ThromboGenomics platform thus provides an affordable DNA-based test to diagnose patients suspected of having a known inherited BPD.status: publishe

A comprehensive high-throughput sequencing test for the diagnosis of inherited bleeding, thrombotic and platelet disorders

Inherited bleeding, thrombotic, and platelet disorders (BPDs) are diseases that affect ∼300 individuals per million births. With the exception of hemophilia and von Willebrand disease patients, a molecular analysis for patients with a BPD is often unavailable. Many specialized tests are usually required to reach a putative diagnosis and they are typically performed in a step-wise manner to control costs. This approach causes delays and a conclusive molecular diagnosis is often never reached, which can compromise treatment and impede rapid identification of affected relatives. To address this unmet diagnostic need, we designed a high-throughput sequencing platform targeting 63 genes relevant for BPDs. The platform can call single nucleotide variants, short insertions/deletions, and large copy number variants (though not inversions) which are subjected to automated filtering for diagnostic prioritization, resulting in an average of 5.34 candidate variants per individual. We sequenced 159 and 137 samples, respectively, from cases with and without previously known causal variants. Among the latter group, 61 cases had clinical and laboratory phenotypes indicative of a particular molecular etiology, whereas the remainder had an a priori highly uncertain etiology. All previously detected variants were recapitulated and, when the etiology was suspected but unknown or uncertain, a molecular diagnosis was reached in 56 of 61 and only 8 of 76 cases, respectively. The latter category highlights the need for further research into novel causes of BPDs. The ThromboGenomics platform thus provides an affordable DNA-based test to diagnose patients suspected of having a known inherited BPD.This study, including the enrollment of cases, sequencing, and analysis received support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource–Rare Diseases. The NIHR BioResource is funded by the NIHR (http://www.nihr.ac.uk). Research in the Ouwehand Laboratory is also supported by grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the British Heart Foundation, the British Society of Haematology, the European Commission, the MRC, the NIHR, and the Wellcome Trust; the laboratory also receives funding from National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The clinical fellows received funding from the MRC (C.L. and S.K.W.); the NIHR–Rare Diseases Translational Research Collaboration (S. Sivapalaratnam); and the British Society for Haematology and National Health Service Blood and Transplant (T.K.B.).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Society of Hematology via http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2015-12-688267