Editorial

Welcome to the first issue of Volume 3 of Therapeutic Advances in Hematology! We are in our third year now and I am pleased to report the continued increase in readership as well as the number of individuals accessing the journal online. Our mission remains the same: with continued advances in the treatment of hematologic malignancies and nonmalignant disorders, especially in the realm of ‘next-gen’ selective, targeted, and rationally designed therapy, we will cover the field and bring comprehensive updates and increasingly aim to bring original reports to you. The editorial team at SAGE and all of my colleagues and contributors deserve continued praise as we ‘grow’ the journal; my thanks to all for their tireless work!

In this issue we begin with J. Orozco from Seattle sharing a comprehensive review of radioimmunotherapy (RIT) in the optimization of hematopoietic stem cell transplant of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). He highlights efforts to improve outcomes with the incorporation of RIT focusing on the choice of myeloid cell surface target, radionuclide employed, and the limitations of RIT prior to HCT, in particular dosimetry and nontarget organ toxicity. This report highlights the extensive work of J. Pagel, senior author, in the development of CD45-directed therapy and the newer pretargeted (PRIT) approach. Next Dr Fernandez and Dr Padron from the Moffit Cancer Center in Florida run through the series of debates surrounding the ideal therapy for AML. They tackled several questions, such as which anthracycline is best? If daunorubicin is used, what is the ideal dose? Is there an anthracycline threshold effect? In addition, they cover novel approaches including the potential role of FLT-3, proteosome, and P-gp inhibitors and molar ratio liposomal delivery of 7 + 3 for AML patients.

We next move into the arena of immunotherapy, with a review by M. Horch and V.H. Nguyen of the University of Chicago. Their review describes the characterization, surface markers, regulation and heterogeneous nature of regulatory T cells (Treg), how Treg function in the context of hematopoietic stem cell transplant and their role in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention or modulation, and presents the data on recent clinical trials demonstrating the feasibility of infusing Treg as immunotherapy for GVHD, as well as the limitations of potential bystander and disease effects. This is followed by a comprehensive review of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in cancer patients by Dr Hogg and Dr Carrier from the University of Ottawa. Their paper covers the incidence of VTE in cancer patients and describes the validated Khorana risk assessment score and its use to identify the highest risk patients. They cover the prevention and treatment of VTE in the inpatient and outpatient setting, review the key agents in use, and address the management of recurrent VTE.

We close the first issue of the third volume with an interesting perspective on the hematologic manifestations of dengue fever and the implications into research of this widespread and devastating disease, by J.J. Tsai and others from Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan and G. Perng from Emory in Atlanta. The authors review the potential pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia, report on investigation and inability to confirm the role of CLEC5A by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) study, and suggest further research into the role of the bone marrow for diagnostic and prognostic date in dengue. Thinking outside the box, spurring future research and widening the perspective are part of the mission of the journal; stay tuned for more special articles, features, and other elements introduced as we continue our work.

Thanks to all our contributors and may Therapeutic Advances in Hematology continue its success in 2012!