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Foreword
Erik Berntorp is Director of the Malmö Haemophilia Centre in Sweden. He also serves as Head Physician in the
Department for Coagulation Disorders at Malmö University Hospital and is a Professor of Clinical Coagulation Research, with
a focus on haemophilia. His research interests include prophylactic treatment of haemophilia and of von Willebrand disease,
genetic aspects of inhibitor development and treatment of inhibitors in haemophilia, including bypass therapy and immune
tolerance induction. A world-renowned expert on bleeding disorders, Professor Berntorp has lent his knowledge to a
number of prestigious medical journals and scientific textbooks, including the Textbook of Hemophilia, Seminars in
Hematology and Blood. He has contributed over 130 original articles to international medical journals. He also organises and
chairs various medical symposia and meetings on haemophilia, including the International Course in Haemophilia held in
Malmö, Sweden. Professor Berntorp is affiliated to many professional organisations, including the International Society on
Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH).
W
elcome to this edition of European Haematology. This publication strives to address important advances and issues
in the field of haematology, and the articles included have been selected for their significance and substance. The
result is a collection of outstanding articles that discuss and review many of the important issues that haematologists
throughout Europe, and indeed globally, confront every day.
This edition begins with a discussion by Ruth Clifford and Tim J Littlewood of the increased efficacy in the treatment of
chemotherapy-related anaemia. Approximately 75% of patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer will become anaemic during
the course of their treatment. Several recent trials have suggested that the rate and speed of haemoglobin response can be
improved if intravenous (IV) iron is given in combination with the erythropoiesis-stimulating agent, and also that the IV iron
preparations are safe. Daan Dierickx and Len Verbeke describe the currently available evidence on the use of rituximab in immune-
mediated anaemia, and also reflect on potential side effects that might hamper the initial enthusiasm for its use in these disorders.
In the ‘Thrombosis’ section, Murray J Adams discusses thrombin and its central role in haemostasis through both procoagulant
and anticoagulant functions and the recent advances in understanding a wider scope of physiological roles of thrombin, as well
as improvements in technology that have resulted in less technically demanding and more reproducible methods.
Paolo Ricchi et al. assess the role of hypocholesterolaemia as a potential source of several clinical features of patients affected
by thalassaemia in the ‘Haemoglobinopathies’ section. Their primary focus is the extent of the phenomenon among different
forms of thalassaemia in order to highlight the particularly reduced level in patients with thalassaemia intermedia.
Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is now the standard of care for relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and
for subgroups of patients with multiple myeloma. In the ‘Transplantation’ section, Gunnar Kvalheim et al. discuss how the use
of plerixafor for peripheral blood progenitor cell mobilisation reduces the frequency of mobilisation failures in patients
scheduled for treatment with autotransplantation.
Azra Raza and Naomi Galili describe the biology of myelodysplastic syndromes and their characterisation by excessive proliferation
followed by intramedullary apoptosis of haematopoietic cells. These biological insights, some quite unexpected, are opening the
doors to entirely novel areas of research and will hopefully lead to better outcomes for patients through translational research.
European Haematology also includes a variety of articles spanning a number of haematological malignancies. Sameer A Parikh
and Stefan Faderl discuss the clinical management of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia, while Mary Frances
McMullin discusses the diagnosis and treatment of erythrocytosis. Hermann Einsele et al. highlight the progress of front-line
treatment of multiple myeloma and Valeria Magarotto and Antonio Palumbo evaluate how to balance the efficacy and
tolerability of first-line treatment in elderly myeloma patients.
European Haematology would like to thank everyone involved for successfully providing interesting and informative expert
discussion of a variety on haematological disorders and malignancies that warrant our debate, time and attention. We would
like to thank the organisations, media partners and Editorial Board for their continued support, and also extend our gratitude
to the individual authors for their time and effort, which has resulted in a selection of excellent articles. We trust you will find
this edition an informative and enjoyable read. n
6 © TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2010
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