Every year on the 8th May, Thalassaemia International Federation commemorates the International Thalassaemia Day and organises activities for raising awareness about the genetic blood disorder of thalassaemia, on general topics…

The word ‘leukemia’ fills people with awe and foreboding. Things have changed, however, for the better. In children who have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) the cure rate is about 90%. In adults the story is not so good. The predominant type of leukemia in adults is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and most patients are over 60 years of age. Although age was felt to be an important factor in the poor responses seen in adults, it is now clear that Acute Leukemia in older patients is a different disease which is intrinsically resistant to traditional chemotherapy.

To date, up to 80% of patients with the most common subtype of malignant lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma), are cured of this aggressive disease by chemotherapy, in combination with the anti-lymphoma antibody Rituximab. Unfortunately, young patients with high risk disease and elderly patients fare much worse and there is an urgent need to improve their outcome. However, the past year has seen a significant increase in our knowledge of the biology of disease. Using gene expression profiling and other new molecular techniques, we are beginning to recognize/identify the disease driver pathways which make lymphoma cells continue to proliferate. These major advances will be extensively reported at the meeting.  The first results of clinical studies with new "smart molecules", such as lenalidomide, enzastaurin, bortezomib and ibrutinib, to mention a few, that specifically kill the cancer cells with only minimal damage to normal tissues/organs will be presented. So far, this modern "personalized medicine" approach appears to be promising, in particular for patients who only respond poorly to conventional treatment.

Personalized medicine and hematology have strong links. As one of the few medical specialties to do so,hematology has developed successful personalized medicine strategies and has managed to actually increase cure rates. It looks as if the future of research into blood disorders will yield more and more subtypes of diseases that will necessitate more personalized diagnoses and treatments. EHA is a member of the European Alliance for Personalized Medicine (EAPM) to work together with other academics, healthcare professionals, payers, patients, and industry representatives to accelerate the development, delivery and uptake of personalized medicine and diagnostics. Last week, this alliance organized the Irish Presidency Conference on ‘Innovation and Patient Access to Personalised Medicine’ in Dublin.

From the conference, the following press statement is released:

The Board of the European Hematology Association (EHA) has the pleasure to cordially invite you, as a member of the press, to the 18^th Congress of EHA. More than 9,500 participants from around the world are expected at the upcoming 18^th Congress of the European Hematology Association at the Stockholmsmässan in Stockholm, Sweden from June 13-16, 2013.

There are many myths out there. Today, on World Cancer Day 2013, you can get the facts. One and a half million premature deaths per year, among them from hematological malignancies, could be prevented.

The emerging field of personalised medicine is offering innovative ways of tackling Europe's health issues. But Europe's healthcare system is not yet fully adapted to take advantage of the possibilities.How can patients get access to the benefits that are on the brink of becoming available through personalised medicine?

This is the theme of a conference organised by EAPM under the Irish Presidency of the EU, in Dublin on March 20-21.

The first ever EHA-SWG Scientific Meeting, titled Focus on Neutropenia & other genetic marrow failure failures took place in Genova, Italy, from September 14-16, 2012.
The meeting was chaired by Carlo Dufour, MD from the Heamtology Unit from G. Gaslini Children’s Hospital, Genova, Italy

60 participants attended the meeting from Europe, Middle-East, Africa and United States. Attendance included faculty members, trained and in training doctors involved in the field of neutropenia, marrow failure and pediatric hematology in general. 

At the 54^th Annual Meeting of ASH, Dr Francesco Lo Coco, lead author and Chairman of the APL subcommittee of the Italian GIMEMA group and Professor of Hematology at University Tor Vergata in Rome, Italy, presented the outcome of new research that demonstrates the efficacy of the first curative treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) that does not include chemotherapy, marking an important step toward front-line use of targeted therapies for acute leukemia.

Brussels, 20 Nov: Economic growth and lower healthcare costs are both possible if Europe exploits the opportunities of personalised healthcare, according to a report prepared under the aegis of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU.

We welcome the proposal for a Clinical Trials Regulation released by the European Commission. The Regulation appears to improve the legislation associated with running clinical trials. This will give clinicians and researchers a better framework for developing and testing treatments, to benefit patients across Europe, while maintaining the high standards of patient safety that currently exist in European clinical research. The harmonisation of clinical trials legislation and the streamlining of the application process for starting trials should particularly benefit the set up and running of multi-national trials in Europe.

H-Net, the 3-year European Network for Harmonization of Training in Hematology project led by Professor Eva Hellström-Lindberg, ended in September 2011, but its strongest components continue.

  http://www. no-cuts-on-research. eu EHA supports European Nobel and Fields Medal prizewinners to prevent the EU research funding for 2014-2020 from being subject to budget cuts.

The Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation, the legal host of the CML Advocates Network, proudly announced the launch of phase 2 of its International CML Adherence Survey. The survey was launched in 12 countries on International CML Awareness Day (22 Sept 2012). As it is organized by the non-profit patient community, this research work urgently needs your support now: If you are a CML patient treated with TKI, please participate. If you are a doctor treating CML patients: Please encourage your patients to participate!

BRUSSELS, September 18 2012:

Today, Nessa Childers, MEP hosted the launch of the Manifesto of the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine in the European Parliament. 

The Manifesto sets out both the opportunities and challenges of ‘a targeted approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease based on an individual’s specific profile’ - what is known as personalised medicine.

Currently available treatments for disease have revolutionised health in Europe and beyond, but science has now brought healthcare to the brink of another major evolution.

By a combination of molecular medicine and computer technology, it is becoming possible for screening of patients, early treatment, or prevention to be calibrated precisely, to deliver with maximum effectiveness. With personalised medicine, healthcare services will ensure the right intervention to the right patient at the right time - improving patient outcomes, reducing the likelihood of adverse events, and cutting down unnecessary treatments.