The new HALT Clinic at the James is improving methods to detect blood cancers, and making earlier diagnoses possible. “The goal is to identify patients or people at higher risk of developing leukemia due to either an inherited genetic mutation or an acquitted genetic mutation,” says Uma Borate, MBBS, co-director of the cutting-edge clinic. In episode, Borate explains how advances in sequencing DNA have allowed scientists and physicians to identify leukemia in the very earliest stages, when it is most treatable. “We’ve also been able to identify patterns of mutations in families and [discover] inherited genetic disorders we weren’t aware of before.” The James, a world leader in researching and treating blood cancers “had all the building blocks in place” to create the Hematologic Abnormalities at risk of Leukemia Transformation (HALT) Clinic, adding that “I helped bring them together under one roof," she explained. Diagnosing a patient with a blood cancer in the early stages is important. “If you had asked me years ago if this would make a difference, I would have said no,” Borate said. “But now, with the advances we’ve made the answer is slowly becoming yes.”