Welcome to the latest edition of European Oncology & Haematology, which features a wide variety of topical articles. This issue begins with an expert interview with Karen Gelmon on the latest advances in treatments for women with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer, for which effective therapeutic options still remain a major unmet need. One of the most challenging aspects of breast cancer management is selecting patients most likely to respond to a particular therapy.
The remainder of this edition focuses on haematological malignancies. Myeloproliferative disorders remain a major therapeutic challenge, and ruxolitinib has emerged as an important treatment option. Kiladjian, Francis and Soret discuss the optimisation of the use of ruxolitinib in polycythemia vera (PV), identifying five patient groups in which ruxolitinib might be beneficial. One of the risks associated with PV is its potential transformation to acute myeloid leukemia/ myelodysplastic syndromes (AML/MDS), which is associated with variable outcomes. Anaemia arising from MDS may lead to hepatic iron overload (IOL). Risum et al. present a study investigating the utility of transient elastography for the detection of IOL in MDS.
Autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remains a valuable treatment in haematological malignancies, but debate persists as to the optimum strategy for haematopoietic stem cell mobilisation. Wuchter and I present a discussion that took place during the 3rd International Congress on Controversies in Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies (COSTEM 2015). This issue also features a review by Kröger of the role of anti T-lymphocyte globulin in the prevention of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following allogeneic HSCT. While preventative measures are well established for acute GVHD, chronic GVHD has been less studied.
Finally, multiple myeloma (MM) is a haematological malignancy for which effective therapies are needed, since most patients relapse after initial therapy. Spencer and Mithraprabhu review the potential of histone deacetylase inhibitors in the treatment of MM.
European Oncology & Haematology would like to thank all expert authors who gave their time and effort to produce an insightful selection of articles. A special thanks goes to our Editorial Board for their continuing support and guidance. The expert discussions and the variety of topics covered ensure there is something of interest for every reader and we hope you find this edition useful and thought-provoking.
