In this week's episode, Blood editor Dr. Laurie Sehn interviews authors Drs. Anastasios Karadimitris and Maria Carolina Florian on their papers published in Volume 147 Issue 2 of Blood. Dr. Karadimitris' paper "Off-the-shelf dual CAR-iNKT cell immunotherapy eradicates medullary and leptomeningeal high-risk KMT2A-rearranged leukemia", discusses the success of bispecific CAR-iNKT cells targeting CD19 and CD133 in pre-clinical models, prompting the clinical development of this class of product. Dr. Florian's paper, "A Notch trans-activation to cis-inhibition switch underlies hematopoietic stem cell aging" proposes that the Jagged2/Notch interaction is a key regulator of hematopoietic stem cell divisional symmetry during aging and offers insights that may inform strategies to restore regenerative function in aged hematopoiesis. 

In this week's episode, Blood editor Dr. James Griffin interviews Drs. Paresh Vyas and Andrew Hantel on their research published in this week's issue of Blood. Dr. Vyas discusses his paper, "Rapid clonal selection within early hematopoietic cell compartments presages outcome to ivosidenib combination therapy", which provided new insights as to when and how to intervene to circumvent resistance to AML remission. Dr. Hantel will speak about his paper, "Impact of Modernizing Eligibility Criteria on Enrollment and Representation in AML Clinical Trials". For a real-world cohort of more than 2200 patients with AML, they reported that modernized, safety-based criteria could nearly double trial eligibility, with especially pronounced gains among historically underserved groups.  Both studies highlight how biologic insight and thoughtful trial design can drive more effective, inclusive advances in AML treatment and research. 

In this week's episode, Blood Associate editor Dr. Hervé Dombret interviews authors Drs. Sarah K. Tasian and David T. Teachey on their contributions to the How I Treat Series on acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Tasian's paper, “How I treat Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, adolescents, and young adults” discusses the different classes of Ph-like ALL and reviews the recent trials investigating TKIs and immunotherapy specifically for this high-risk patient population. Dr. Teachey's paper, “How I treat ETP-ALL in children”, discusses the best current and emerging therapies that may be used in patients with ETP ALL, including nelarabine and other new agents, immunotherapy, and allogeneic HSCT.

See the full How I Treat series in volume 145 issue 1 of Blood.

In this week's episode, Blood Associate Editor, Dr. Jason Gotlib leads a discussion about the How I Treat Series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in CML, featuring Drs. Neil Shah, Simona Soverini, Elisabetta Abruzzese, and Yves Chalandon. The introduction of TKIs revolutionized patient outcomes in CML, turning a poor prognosis—3 to 5 years life expectancy—to a manageable chronic condition. In this conversation, we'll cover management techniques for CML during relapse, pregnancy, and explore indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

See the full How I Treat series in Volume 147 issue 4 of Blood.

In this week's episode, Blood Associate editor Dr. Thomas Ortel interviews authors Drs. Ware Branch and J.J. Strouse on their contributions to How I Treat hematologic complications in pregnancy. Dr. Branch's paper, “How I diagnose and treat antiphospholipid syndrome in pregnancy” discusses the evolving clinical and laboratory features of APS, and the treatment of cases meeting ACR/EULAR classification criteria. Dr. Strouse stresses the unique problems posed to both the mother and fetus during pregnancy in his paper "How I treat sickle cell disease in pregnancy”.

See the full How I Treat series in volume 143 issue 9 of Blood journal. 

This week's episode accompanies the Review Series on Marginal Zone Lymphoma published in this week's issue of Blood. Associate editor, Dr. Philippe Armand interviews authors Dr. Juan Pablo Alderuccio and Dr. Ariela Noy on their contribution to this review series titled "The treatment of marginal zone lymphoma". The article is crucial in highlighting the clinically and biologically heterogenous nature of MZL diseases, and how current treatment options and available research do not allow for comprehensive MZL specific therapies. Drs. Alderuccio and Noy share their insights on specific avenues for the expansion of the MZL care landscape.

Find the full review series in volume 147 issue 2 of Blood journal.

In this week's episode we've pulled a vault recording from 2025! Blood editor Dr. Laurie Sehn interviews authors Drs. David-Alexandre Trégouët and Johannes Schetelig on their research published in volume 146 issue 19 of Blood journal. Dr. Trégouët's study conducted a genome-wide association study supplemented by transcriptome and Mendelian randomization analyses to identify 28 loci and proteins associated with VTE recurrence risk. This work provides genomic evidence that inherited variants contribute to the risk of VTE recurrence, raising the possibility of a more personalized approach to the prevention of recurrent VTE. The study conducted by Dr. Schetelig and colleagues report the results of a long term trial on patients with poor-response AML, comparing outcomes between patients who received salvage chemotherapy versus immediate transplantation. With no difference in survival rates at 5 years, outcomes seem to be determined mainly by genetic risk factors, age, and comorbidities, therefore challenging the routine use of intensive remission induction before allogeneic transplant in patients with an available donor and underscore the need for novel therapeutic strategies for poor-risk AML.

Featured Articles:

• Molecular Determinants of Thrombosis Recurrence Risk Across Venous Thromboembolism Subtypes 
• Disease risk but not remission status determines transplant outcomes in AML: long-term outcomes of the ASAP trial 
  
  

In this week's episode, Blood editor Dr. James Griffin interviews authors Drs. Vincent Muczynski and Mark Geyer on their latest research published in Blood. Dr. Muczynski's research asks if there could there be a better gene than the factor VIII (FVIII) gene to transfer for curative treatment of hemophilia A? Dr. Geyer then explores CAR T cells armed with interleukin-18 (IL-18) secretion that target CD371, a transmembrane glycoprotein with high expression on AML and leukemia-initiating cells. Both studies explore finding novel targets for these powerful treatment modalities. 

Featured Articles:

• Alternative AAV gene therapy for hemophilia A using expression of Bi8, a novel single-chain FVIII-mimetic antibody
• CD371-targeted CAR T cells secreting interleukin-18 exhibit robust expansion and clear refractory acute myeloid leukemia

In this week's episode, Blood editor Dr. Laurie Sehn interviews three of the latest Blood authors: Drs. Vijay Sankaran, Ruud Delwel, Françoise Kraeber-Bodere. Two studies on the MECOM gene have been paired in this episode, analyzing new groundwork for potential novel myeloid differentiation therapies via repression of MECOM restoring enhancer mediated CEBPA expression. We'll also hear about the results of CASSIOPET, imaging companion study of the CASSIOPEIA trial, and how achieving negativity in PET before starting maintenance therapy is significant even in patients who still show residual disease in the bone marrow.

Featured Articles

• CEBPA repression by MECOM blocks differentiation to drive aggressive leukemias
• MECOM is a master repressor of myeloid differentiation through dose control of CEBPA in acute myeloid leukemia 
• Prognostic value of premaintenance FDG PET/CT response in patients with newly diagnosed from the CASSIOPEIA trial

In this Review Series episode, Blood Associate Editor, Dr. Elisabeth Battinelli discusses the Platelet Heterogeneity with authors Drs. Craig Morrell, Larry Frelinger, and Leo Nicolai. 

Find the full review series in volume 146 issue 24 of Blood.