1 6442 132 THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN MYELOFIBROSIS AND MYELODYSPLASTIC/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE OVERLAP SYNDROMES. THE DISCOVERY OF JAK2 (V617F) A DECADE AGO LED TO OPTIMISM FOR A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING TREATMENT REVOLUTION IN PH(-) MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. UNLIKE BCR-ABL, HOWEVER, JAK2 WAS FOUND TO HAVE A MORE HETEROGENEOUS ROLE IN CARCINOGENESIS. THEREFORE, FOR YEARS, DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THERAPIES WAS SLOW, DESPITE STANDARD TREATMENT OPTIONS THAT DID NOT ADDRESS THE OVERWHELMING SYMPTOM BURDEN IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (MF), POST-ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA MF, POST-POLYCYTHEMIA VERA MF, AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS)/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM (MPN) SYNDROMES. JAK-STAT INHIBITORS HAVE CHANGED THIS, DRASTICALLY AMELIORATING SYMPTOMS AND ULTIMATELY BEGINNING TO SHOW EVIDENCE OF IMPACT ON SURVIVAL. NOW, THE GENETIC FOUNDATIONS OF MYELOFIBROSIS AND MDS/MPN ARE RAPIDLY BEING ELUCIDATED AND CONTRIBUTING TO TARGETED THERAPY DEVELOPMENT. THIS HAS BEEN EMPOWERED THROUGH UPDATED RESPONSE CRITERIA FOR MDS/MPN AND REFINED PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEMS IN THESE DISEASES. THE AIM OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO SUMMARIZE CONCISELY THE CURRENT AND RATIONALLY DESIGNED INVESTIGATIONAL THERAPEUTICS DIRECTED AT JAK-STAT, HEDGEHOG, PI3K-AKT, BONE MARROW FIBROSIS, TELOMERASE, AND ROGUE EPIGENETIC SIGNALING. THE REVOLUTION IN IMMUNOTHERAPY AND NOVEL TREATMENTS AIMED AT PREVIOUSLY UNTARGETED SIGNALING PATHWAYS PROVIDES HOPE FOR CONSIDERABLE ADVANCEMENT IN THERAPY OPTIONS FOR THOSE WITH CHRONIC MYELOID DISEASE. 2016 2 255 46 ADVANCES IN MYELOFIBROSIS: A CLINICAL CASE APPROACH. PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS IS A MEMBER OF THE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS, A DIVERSE GROUP OF BONE MARROW MALIGNANCIES. SYMPTOMS OF MYELOFIBROSIS, PARTICULARLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH SPLENOMEGALY (ABDOMINAL DISTENTION AND PAIN, EARLY SATIETY, DYSPNEA, AND DIARRHEA) AND CONSTITUTIONAL SYMPTOMS, REPRESENT A SUBSTANTIAL BURDEN TO PATIENTS. MOST PATIENTS EVENTUALLY DIE FROM THE DISEASE, WITH A MEDIAN SURVIVAL RANGING FROM APPROXIMATELY 5-7 YEARS. MUTATIONS IN JANUS KINASE 2 (JAK2), A KINASE THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF ERYTHROCYTES, GRANULOCYTES, AND PLATELETS, NOTABLY THE V617F MUTATION, HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN APPROXIMATELY 50% OF PATIENTS WITH MYELOFIBROSIS. THE APPROVAL OF A JAK2 INHIBITOR IN 2011 HAS IMPROVED THE OUTLOOK OF MANY PATIENTS WITH MYELOFIBROSIS AND HAS CHANGED THE TREATMENT LANDSCAPE. THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES ON SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ISSUES IN CURRENT MYELOFIBROSIS TREATMENT MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING DIFFERENTIATION OF MYELOFIBROSIS FROM ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA AND POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, UP-DATED DATA ON THE RESULTS OF JAK2 INHIBITOR THERAPY, THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN MYELOFIBROSIS PATHOGENESIS, INVESTIGATIONAL THERAPIES FOR MYELOFIBROSIS, AND ADVANCES IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT. THREE MYELOFIBROSIS CASES ARE INCLUDED TO UNDERSCORE THE ISSUES IN DIAGNOSING AND TREATING THIS COMPLEX DISEASE. 2013 3 3575 45 IMPACT OF MOLECULAR PROFILING ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH MYELOFIBROSIS. MYELOFIBROSIS (MF) IS A CHRONIC MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM (MPN) CHARACTERIZED BY A HIGHLY HETEROGENEOUS CLINICAL COURSE, WHICH CAN BE COMPLICATED BY SEVERE CONSTITUTIONAL SYMPTOMS, MASSIVE SPLENOMEGALY, PROGRESSIVE BONE MARROW FAILURE, CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACUTE LEUKEMIA. CONSTITUTIVE SIGNALING THROUGH THE JAK-STAT PATHWAY PLAYS A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN ITS PATHOGENESIS, GENERALLY DUE TO ACTIVATING MUTATIONS OF JAK2, CALR AND MPL GENES (I.E., THE MPN DRIVER MUTATIONS), PRESENT IN MOST MF PATIENTS. NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING (NGS) PANEL TESTING HAS SHOWN THAT ADDITIONAL SOMATIC MUTATIONS CAN ALREADY BE DETECTED AT THE TIME OF DIAGNOSIS IN MORE THAN HALF OF PATIENTS, AND THAT THEY ACCUMULATE ALONG THE DISEASE COURSE. THESE MUTATIONS, MOSTLY AFFECTING EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS OR SPLICEOSOME COMPONENTS, MAY COOPERATE WITH MPN DRIVERS TO FAVOR CLONAL DOMINANCE OR INFLUENCE THE CLINICAL PHENOTYPE, AND SOME, SUCH AS HIGH MOLECULAR RISK MUTATIONS, CORRELATE WITH A MORE AGGRESSIVE CLINICAL COURSE WITH POOR TREATMENT RESPONSE. THE CURRENT MAIN ROLE OF MOLECULAR PROFILING IN CLINICAL PRACTICE IS PROGNOSTICATION, PRINCIPALLY FOR SELECTING HIGH-RISK PATIENTS WHO MAY BE CANDIDATES FOR TRANSPLANTATION, THE ONLY CURATIVE TREATMENT FOR MF TO DATE. TO THIS END, CONTEMPORARY PROGNOSTIC MODELS INCORPORATING MOLECULAR DATA ARE USEFUL TOOLS TO DISCRIMINATE DIFFERENT RISK CATEGORIES. ASIDE FROM CERTAIN CLINICAL SITUATIONS, DECISIONS REGARDING MEDICAL TREATMENT ARE NOT BASED ON PATIENT MOLECULAR PROFILING, YET THIS APPROACH MAY BECOME MORE RELEVANT IN NOVEL TREATMENT STRATEGIES, SUCH AS THE USE OF VACCINES AGAINST THE MUTANT FORMS OF JAK2 OR CALR, OR DRUGS DIRECTED AGAINST ACTIONABLE MOLECULAR TARGETS. 2022 4 3747 41 INSIGHTS INTO THE MOLECULAR GENETICS OF MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE BCR-ABL1-NEGATIVE CHRONIC MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) HAS WITNESSED UNPRECEDENTED ADVANCES SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF THE ACQUIRED JAK2 V617F MUTATION IN 2005. DESPITE THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF JAK2 V617F IN POLYCYTHEMIA VERA (PV), ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA (ET), AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (PMF), AND THE COMMON FINDING OF DYSREGULATED JAK-STAT SIGNALING IN THESE DISORDERS, IT IS NOW APPRECIATED THAT MPN PATHOGENESIS CAN REFLECT THE ACQUISITION OF MULTIPLE GENETIC MUTATIONS THAT ALTER SEVERAL BIOLOGIC PATHWAYS, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION. ALTHOUGH CERTAIN GENE MUTATIONS ARE IDENTIFIED AT HIGHER FREQUENCIES WITH DISEASE EVOLUTION TO THE BLAST PHASE, MPN INITIATION AND PROGRESSION ARE NOT EXPLAINED BY A SINGLE, TEMPORAL PATTERN OF CLONAL CHANGES. A COMPLEX INTERPLAY BETWEEN ACQUIRED MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES AND HOST GENETIC BACKGROUND, IN ADDITION TO THE TYPE AND ALLELIC BURDEN OF MUTATIONS, CONTRIBUTES TO THE PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY OF MPNS. AT THE POPULATION LEVEL, AN INHERITED PREDISPOSITION TO DEVELOPING MPNS IS LINKED TO A RELATIVELY COMMON JAK2-ASSOCIATED HAPLOTYPE (REFERRED TO AS '46/1'), BUT IT EXHIBITS A RELATIVELY LOW PENETRANCE. THIS REVIEW DETAILS THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE MOLECULAR GENETICS OF THE CLASSIC MPNS PV, ET, AND PMF AND DISCUSSES THE CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS. 2012 5 4442 33 MOLECULAR GENETICS OF MDS/MPN OVERLAP SYNDROMES. THE MYELODYSPLASTIC/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MDS/MPN) ARE A HETEROGENOUS GROUP OF MYELOID MALIGNANCIES HALLMARKED BY CLINICOPATHOLOGIC FEATURES THAT OVERLAP WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. FORMALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, THIS GROUP INCLUDES THE ENTITIES CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, JUVENILE MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, ATYPICAL CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA, MDS/MPN WITH RING SIDEROBLASTS AND THROMBOCYTOSIS AND MDS/MPN, UNCLASSIFIABLE. ADVANCEMENTS IN NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING HAVE BEGUN TO UNRAVEL THE MOLECULAR UNDERPINNINGS OF THESE DISEASES, IDENTIFYING AN ARRAY OF RECURRENTLY MUTATED GENES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION, RNA SPLICING, TRANSCRIPTION, AND CELL SIGNALING. DESPITE MOLECULAR OVERLAP WITH OTHER MYELOID MALIGNANCIES, EACH ENTITY DISPLAYS A UNIQUE SPECTRUM OF SOMATIC MUTATIONS SUPPORTING THEIR UNIQUE PATHOBIOLOGY AND CLINICAL FEATURES. IMPORTANTLY, MOLECULAR PROFILING IS BECOMING AN INTEGRAL TOOL UTILIZED IN ROUTINE CLINICAL PRACTICE. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS OF OVERLAP SYNDROMES AND DETAILS THE IMPACT OF SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN DIAGNOSTIC, PROGNOSTIC, AND THERAPEUTIC DECISION-MAKING. 2020 6 5284 37 PROPOSALS FOR CLINICAL TRIALS IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCY OF MOSTLY OLDER INDIVIDUALS THAT EXHIBITS BOTH MYELODYSPLASTIC AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE FEATURES. CMML PRESENTATION AND OUTCOME ARE VARIABLE, REFLECTING GENETIC AND CLINICAL HETEROGENEITY. HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS ARE THE MAINSTAY OF THERAPY BUT INDUCE COMPLETE REMISSIONS IN LESS THAN 20% OF PATIENTS AND DO NOT PROLONG SURVIVAL COMPARED TO HYDROXYUREA. ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT (ASCT) IS POTENTIALLY CURATIVE, BUT FEW PATIENTS QUALIFY DUE TO ADVANCED AGE AND/OR COMORBIDITIES. WORK OF THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS IDENTIFIED KEY MOLECULAR PATHWAYS THAT DRIVE DISEASE PROLIFERATION AND TRANSFORMATION TO ACUTE LEUKEMIA, INCLUDING JAK/STAT AND MAPK SIGNALING AND EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION. THERE IS INCREASINGLY COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT INFLAMMATION IS A MAJOR DRIVER OF CMML PROGRESSION. THUS FAR HOWEVER, THIS MECHANISTIC KNOWLEDGE HAS NOT YET BEEN TRANSLATED INTO IMPROVED OUTCOMES, SUGGESTING THAT FUNDAMENTALLY NEW APPROACHES ARE REQUIRED. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS THE DISEASE COURSE, NEW CLASSIFICATIONS, AND CURRENT TREATMENT LANDSCAPE OF CMML. WE REVIEW ONGOING CLINICAL STUDIES AND DISCUSS OPTIONS FOR RATIONALLY BASED FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS. 2023 7 6852 32 [MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS: UPDATES ON MOLECULAR PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES]. MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) ARE CHRONIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL DISORDERS, INCLUDING POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTOSIS, AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS. THE JAK2V617F MUTATION WAS IDENTIFIED IN 2005, FOLLOWED BY THE DISCOVERY OF THE JAK2 EXON12, MPNW515 MUTATION, AND CALR MUTATION. ABOUT 90% OF PATIENTS WITH BCR/ABL NEGATIVE MPNS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE ONE OF THESE DRIVER MUTATIONS. IN ADDITION, MUTATIONS IN EPIGENETIC REGULATORS AND RNA SPLICING GENES WERE FOUND TO CO-EXIST WITH DRIVER MUTATIONS AND TO PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN THE DISEASE PROGRESSION OF MPNS. CURRENTLY, EVALUATIONS OF THESE GENE MUTATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF MPNS, AND ARE ALSO NECESSARY FOR ESTIMATING THE CLINICAL COURSE AND THE RISK OF DISEASE PROGRESSION. GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MPNS WERE BASED ON THE RESULTS OF LARGE CLINICAL TRIALS. FURTHERMORE, RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PATHOGENESIS OF MPNS ARE ANTICIPATED TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MPN-TARGETED THERAPIES SUCH AS JAK2 INHIBITORS. CLINICAL TRIALS FOR PATIENTS WITH PMF AND PV HAVE CONFIRMED THE EFFICACIES OF JAK2 INHIBITORS. 2016 8 4566 26 MYELOID SOMATIC MUTATION PANEL TESTING IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS ARE CHARACTERISED BY SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN PATHWAYS THAT REGULATE CELL PROLIFERATION, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, RNA SPLICING OR DNA REPAIR. ASSESSMENT OF THE MUTATIONAL PROFILE ASSISTS DIAGNOSIS AND CLASSIFICATION, BUT ALSO AIDS ASSESSMENT OF PROGNOSIS, AND MAY GUIDE THE USE OF EMERGING TARGETED THERAPIES. THE MOST PRACTICAL WAY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON NUMEROUS GENETIC VARIANTS IS BY USING MASSIVELY PARALLEL SEQUENCING, COMMONLY IN THE FORM OF DISEASE SPECIFIC NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING (NGS) PANELS. THIS REVIEW SUMMARISES THE DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF SOMATIC MUTATION TESTING IN PHILADELPHIA-NEGATIVE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS: POLYCYTHAEMIA VERA, ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHAEMIA, PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS, CHRONIC NEUTROPHILIC LEUKAEMIA, SYSTEMIC MASTOCYTOSIS, AND CHRONIC EOSINOPHILIC LEUKAEMIA. NGS PANEL TESTING IS INCREASING IN ROUTINE PRACTICE AND PROMISES TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY OF PATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS. 2021 9 5257 37 PROGRESSION OF MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPN): DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVES. CLASSICAL BCR-ABL-NEGATIVE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPN) ARE A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES, INCLUDING ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA (ET), POLYCYTHEMIA VERA (PV), AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (PMF), AS WELL AS POST-PV-MF AND POST-ET-MF. PROGRESSION TO MORE SYMPTOMATIC DISEASE, SUCH AS OVERT MF OR ACUTE LEUKEMIA, REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSES OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. THERE ARE CLINICALLY EVIDENT BUT ALSO SUBCLINICAL TYPES OF MPN PROGRESSION. CLINICALLY EVIDENT PROGRESSION INCLUDES EVOLUTION FROM ET TO PV, ET TO POST-ET-MF, PV TO POST-PV-MF, OR PRE-PMF TO OVERT PMF, AND TRANSFORMATION OF ANY OF THESE SUBTYPES TO MYELODYSPLASTIC NEOPLASMS OR ACUTE LEUKEMIA. THROMBOSIS, MAJOR HEMORRHAGE, SEVERE INFECTIONS, OR INCREASING SYMPTOM BURDEN (E.G., PRURITUS, NIGHT SWEATS) MAY HERALD PROGRESSION. SUBCLINICAL TYPES OF PROGRESSION MAY INCLUDE INCREASES IN THE EXTENT OF BONE MARROW FIBROSIS, INCREASES OF DRIVER GENE MUTATIONAL ALLELE BURDEN, AND CLONAL EVOLUTION. THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF MPN PROGRESSION ARE DIVERSE AND CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO GENETIC ALTERATIONS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. PARTICULARLY, BYSTANDER MUTATIONS IN GENES ENCODING EPIGENETIC REGULATORS OR SPLICING FACTORS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PROGRESSION. FINALLY, COMORBIDITIES SUCH AS SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, AND ORGAN FIBROSIS MAY AUGMENT THE RISK OF PROGRESSION. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO DISCUSS TYPES AND MECHANISMS OF MPN PROGRESSION AND HOW THEIR KNOWLEDGE MIGHT IMPROVE RISK STRATIFICATION AND THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION. IN VIEW OF THESE ASPECTS, WE DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF EARLY DIAGNOSIS USING MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL IMAGING AND EXPLOITABLE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES THAT MAY PREVENT PROGRESSION, BUT ALSO HIGHLIGHT CURRENT CHALLENGES AND METHODOLOGICAL PITFALLS. 2021 10 6847 41 [MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASES AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES]. HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF BONE MARROW TREPHINES AND SMEARS REPRESENTS THE MAJOR APPROACH TO DIAGNOSE THE CHRONIC MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASES (CMPD) AND THE MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS). HOWEVER, RISING INSIGHTS INTO MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS OF HUMAN DISEASES STRENGTHEN THE ATTEMPT OF PATHOLOGISTS TO DEFINE AND TO DETECT UNDERLYING DEFECTS BEYOND THE MICROSCOPE. SINCE DISCOVERY OF THE PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA AS THE FIRST SPECIFIC MOLECULAR ABNORMALITY EVER DETECTED IN A HUMAN NEOPLASIA THE GAIN OF KNOWLEDGE OF MOLECULAR PATHOMECHANISMS IN PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME NEGATIVE (PH-) CMPD WAS RATHER SPARSE. A DECISIVE BREAKTHROUGH IN PH CMPD WAS THE FINDING OF JAK2 (V617F) DERIVED FROM A SOMATIC POINT MUTATION IN THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS WITH POLYCYTHEMIA VERA (P.VERA) AND HALF OF PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA (ET) AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (PMF). IT THEREFORE CAN NOT BE OVERESTIMATED THAT DETECTION OF JAK2 (V617F) IN A SUSPECTIVE MYELOPROLIFERATION NOW ENABLES A CLEARCUT DISCRIMINATION OF A TRUE PH CMPD FROM A REACTIVE STATE, E.G. P.VERA FROM REACTIVE ERYTHROCYTOSIS. INTERESTINGLY, A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF MOLECULAR DEFECTS DEMONSTRABLE IN CMPD AND RELATED DISORDERS SEEMS TO BE THE INVOLVEMENT OF GENES WITH KINASE ACTIVITIES. SOME OF THOSE GENES WILL BE DISCUSSED IN MORE DETAIL. IN PRIMARY MDS, KARYOTYPING VIA CLASSICAL CYTOGENETICS IS THE PREDOMINANT MOLECULAR APPROACH TO ESTIMATE PROGNOSIS, E.G. -Y, DEL(5Q) AND DEL(20Q) REPRESENT FAVOURABLE ANOMALIES. INDEED, IN 5Q- SYNDROMES KARYOTYPING ENABLES DEFINITE SUBTYPING AND ALLOWS CLINICIANS AND PATIENTS TO EXPECT A GOOD PROGNOSIS. UNTIL NOW, DOZENS OF MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES SUCH AS MUTATIONS IN AML1, FLT3 AND RAS AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF GENES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED TO VARIOUS DEGREES IN MDS SUBTYPES. SOME OF THEM SEEM TO BE INVOLVED IN DISEASE INITIATION ("MASTER EVENT") AND OTHERS MIGHT INDICATE DISEASE PROGRESSION. HOWEVER, EVEN THOUGH USEFUL FOR FURTHER DISSECTION OF MOLECULAR PATHOMECHANISMS THE MAJORITY OF ABERRATIONS CURRENTLY DOES NOT SERVE AS POTENT MARKERS IN THE DAILY ROUTINE. NEVERTHELESS, IN CMPD AND MDS THE IMPORTANCE OF MOLECULAR ANALYSES FOR DIAGNOSIS, ESTIMATION OF PROGNOSIS, AND DISEASE MONITORING WILL FURTHER INCREASE IN A FORESEEABLE PERIOD OF TIME. 2007 11 3996 45 LOOKING FORWARD: NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN CHRONIC AND ADVANCED PHASES OF MYELOFIBROSIS. MYELOFIBROSIS (MF) IS COMPLEX AT THE PATHOBIOLOGIC LEVEL AND HETEROGENEOUS AT THE CLINICAL LEVEL. THE ADVANCES IN MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MF PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANISMS DRIVING THIS CHRONIC MYELOID MALIGNANCY, REFINE RISK STRATIFICATION, OFFER NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS, AND SERVE TO MEASURE THERAPEUTIC RESPONSE. ALTHOUGH JAK2 INHIBITION HAS BEEN THE FOCUS OF LABORATORY AND CLINICAL EFFORTS OVER THE LAST DECADE, CURRENT EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES HAVE BROADENED TO INCLUDE INHIBITORS OF KEY ALTERNATIVE SIGNALING PATHWAYS, EPIGENETIC MODULATORS, ANTI-FIBROTICS, AND IMMUNOTHERAPIES. BASED ON COMPELLING PRECLINICAL RATIONALE, A NUMBER OF JAK2 INHIBITOR BASED COMBINATION THERAPIES ARE NOW ACTIVELY BEING EVALUATED IN THE CLINIC WITH THE GOAL OF DISEASE COURSE MODIFICATION. THE ROLE AND TIMING OF HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT (HSCT) FOR MF HAS BEEN CHALLENGED WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF COMMERCIAL RUXOLITINIB AND THE PLETHORA OF EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT OPTIONS THAT EXIST. INTEGRATION OF PRECONDITIONING JAK2 INHIBITION, REDUCED INTENSITY CONDITIONING REGIMENS, AND ALTERNATIVE DONOR SOURCES ARE ALL BEING EXPLORED IN AN ATTEMPT TO OPTIMIZE THIS POTENTIALLY CURATIVE MODALITY. THIS REVIEW WILL SUMMARIZE MODERN MF RISK STRATIFICATION, CURRENT CLINICAL RESEARCH APPROACHES TO CHRONIC AND ADVANCE PHASE MF FOCUSING ON NOVEL AGENTS ALONE AND IN COMBINATION, AND UPDATE THE READER ON NEW DIRECTIONS IN HSCT. 2015 12 5799 28 STEPPING OUT OF ANTIQUITY: AN UPDATE ON EMERGING DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF POLYCYTHEMIA VERA. INTRODUCTION: POLYCYTHEMIA VERA IS A CHRONIC HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCY FREQUENTLY PRESENTED WITH CONSTITUTIONAL SYMPTOMS AND ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF THROMBOSIS, HEMORRHAGE, AND PROGRESSION TO MYELOFIBROSIS OR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. CURRENT TREATMENT STRATEGIES REDUCE THROMBOHEMORRHAGIC RISK BY CONTROLLING BLOOD COUNTS AND INHIBITING PLATELETS, BUT OFTEN FAIL TO ADDRESS DISEASE-RELATED SYMPTOMS OR BIOLOGICALLY MODIFY THE DISEASE.AREAS COVERED: WE REVIEW THE CURRENT PARADIGM FOR TREATING POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, HIGHLIGHT AREAS OF UNMET NEED, REVIEW THERAPEUTIC AGENTS IN LATE STAGE CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT, AND PROVIDE AN OVERARCHING VIEW OF HOW THESE EMERGING AGENT MAY FIT INTO THE FUTURE ARMAMENTARIUM OF POLYCYTHEMIA VERA TREATMENTS.EXPERT OPINION: THE SHIFT FROM FOCUSING SOLELY ON SECONDARY PREVENTION OF THROMBOHEMORRHAGIC EVENTS TO A COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENT STRATEGY THAT ADDITIONALLY AIMS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE AND PREVENT DISEASE PROGRESSION HAS RESULTED IN A RAPIDLY EVOLVING THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPE THAT PROMISES TO MOVE THE TREATMENT OF POLYCYTHEMIA VERA OUT OF ANTIQUITY INTO THE MODERN AGE. 2021 13 2548 28 EPIGENETICS IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. THE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) ARE A GROUP OF ACQUIRED CLONAL DISORDERS WHERE MUTATIONS DRIVE PROLIFERATIVE DISEASE RESULTING IN INCREASED BLOOD COUNTS AND IN SOME CASES END-STAGE MYELOFIBROSIS. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE THE REVERSIBLE MODIFICATIONS TO DNA- AND RNA-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS THAT IMPACT GENE ACTIVITY WITHOUT CHANGING THE DNA SEQUENCE. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES MECHANISMS OF EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND THE NUCLEOSOME. THE DRIVERS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATORS IN MPNS ARE OUTLINED. IN MPNS, DISTINCT PATTERNS OF EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION HAVE BEEN SEEN IN CHRONIC AND IN ADVANCED PHASES. METHYLATION AGE AND HISTONE MODIFICATION ARE ALTERED IN MPNS AND BY FURTHER TREATMENT. THE ALTERATIONS FOUND IN METHYLATION AGE IN MPNS AND WITH TREATMENT ARE DISCUSSED, AND THE CHANGES IN HISTONE MODIFICATION WITH JANUS KINASE (JAK) INHIBITION ARE EVALUATED. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE THERAPEUTIC AREAS WHERE THE EPIGENOME CAN BE ALTERED ARE OUTLINED. THUS, WE REVIEW THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF EPIGENETICS IN MPN AND CONSIDER FURTHER MANAGEMENT OPTIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE EPIGENOME AND ITS ALTERATION IN MPNS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRESSION OF DISEASE WILL LEAD TO ADVANCES IN THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS. 2023 14 4681 28 NEW OPTIONS IN THE TREATMENT OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME. MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS) IS A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF PROGRESSIVE CHRONIC HEMATOPOIETIC DISORDERS, USUALLY PRESENTING AS REFRACTORY ANEMIA OR CYTOPENIA, WITH AN APPROXIMATELY 25% RISK OF PROGRESSION TOWARD ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEIMA (AML), AND NO PROVEN CURATIVE TREATMENT. NOVEL BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT STRATEGIES TARGETING BOTH THE MALIGNANT BLOOD CELL AND ITS MICROENVIRONMENT CAN OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO CURRENT THERAPIES, AND REPRESENT A PROMISING TREATMENT PARADIGM FOR IMPROVING PATIENT OUTCOME. MANY OF THESE AGENTS HAVE MULTIPLE BIOLOGIC ACTIVITIES. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO PRESENT A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS IN MDS AND TO DISCUSS THE EVOLVING TRENDS IN THE TREATMENT OF MDS (IMMUNOSUPPRESIVE THERAPY, IMMUNOMODULATORY DRUGS, ARSENIC TRIOXIDE, PROTEASOME INHIBITORS, EPIGENETIC THERAPY). 2005 15 963 29 CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA: INSIGHTS INTO BIOLOGY, PROGNOSTIC FACTORS, AND TREATMENT. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCY CHARACTERIZED BY BOTH DYSPLASTIC AND PROLIFERATIVE FEATURES, WITH AN INHERENT RISK FOR LEUKEMIC TRANSFORMATION. WITH THE HELP OF THIS REVIEW, WE AIM TO SUMMARIZE KEY CONCEPTS WITH REGARDS TO CMML BIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS, RISK STRATIFICATION, AND THERAPEUTICS. RECENT FINDINGS: BASED ON RECENT STUDIES, CMML IS HALLMARKED BY A RELATIVELY LOW GENETIC COMPLEXITY, WHICH CONTRASTS WITH A COMPELLING PHENOTYPICAL HETEROGENEITY, LARGELY DRIVEN BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE CHARACTERIZATION OF CMML BIOLOGY HAS LED TO AN IMPROVEMENT IN RISK-STRATIFICATION, BY MEANS OF INCORPORATING PROGNOSTICALLY RELEVANT GENE MUTATIONS. THIS, HOWEVER, HAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED AVAILABLE THERAPIES AND OUTCOMES CONTINUE TO REMAIN POOR. ADVANCES IN CMML BIOLOGY HAVE BETTER EXPLAINED THE PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY, WHILE CONTINUING TO DEFINE THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE. IN SPITE OF RECENT ADVANCES, LIMITED EFFECTIVE THERAPIES EXIST AND DEVELOPING RATIONALLY DERIVED THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IS MUCH NEEDED. 2019 16 1076 31 CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS CONFERS A PREDISPOSITION TO BOTH THROMBOSIS AND CANCER. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON VASCULAR COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPN) AND MORE SPECIFICALLY AIMS TO DISCUSS THE CLINICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE EXISTENCE OF A LINK BETWEEN CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS, CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS (CVE), AND SOLID CANCER (SC). RECENT FINDINGS: THE MPN NATURAL HISTORY IS DRIVEN BY UNCONTROLLED CLONAL MYELOPROLIFERATION SUSTAINED BY ACQUIRED SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN DRIVER (JAK2, CALR, AND MPL) AND NON-DRIVER GENES, INVOLVING EPIGENETIC (E.G., TET2, DNMT3A) REGULATORS, CHROMATIN REGULATOR GENES (E.G., ASXL1, EZH2), AND SPLICING MACHINERY GENES (E.G., SF3B1). THE GENOMIC ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONAL THROMBOSIS ACQUIRED RISK FACTORS ARE DETERMINANTS FOR CVE. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS CAN ELICIT A CHRONIC AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION STATUS THAT ACTS AS DRIVING FORCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THROMBOSIS, MPN EVOLUTION, AND SECOND CANCER (SC). THIS NOTION MAY EXPLAIN THE MECHANISM THAT LINKS ARTERIAL THROMBOSIS IN MPN PATIENTS AND SUBSEQUENT SOLID TUMORS. IN THE LAST DECADE, CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS OF INDETERMINATE POTENTIAL (CHIP) HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE GENERAL POPULATION PARTICULARLY IN THE ELDERLY AND INITIALLY FOUND IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AND STROKE, RISING THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE INFLAMMATORY STATUS CHIP-ASSOCIATED COULD CONFER PREDISPOSITION TO BOTH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES AND CANCER. IN SUMMARY, CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS IN MPN AND CHIP CONFER A PREDISPOSITION TO CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS AND CANCER THROUGH CHRONIC AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. THIS ACQUISITION COULD OPEN NEW AVENUES FOR ANTITHROMBOTIC THERAPY BOTH IN MPNS AND IN GENERAL POPULATION BY TARGETING BOTH CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS AND INFLAMMATION. 2023 17 1947 40 EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS: A TARGET FOR NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES. THE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) ARE A GROUP OF CLONAL HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES CHARACTERIZED BY A HYPERCELLULAR BONE MARROW AND A TENDENCY TO DEVELOP THROMBOTIC COMPLICATIONS AND TO EVOLVE TO MYELOFIBROSIS AND ACUTE LEUKEMIA. UNLIKE CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA, WHERE A SINGLE DISEASE-INITIATING GENETIC EVENT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED, A MORE COMPLICATED SERIES OF GENETIC MUTATIONS APPEAR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BCR-ABL1-NEGATIVE MPNS WHICH INCLUDE POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA, AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE REVEALED A NUMBER OF EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT ALSO LIKELY CONTRIBUTE TO DISEASE PATHOGENESIS AND DETERMINE CLINICAL OUTCOME. INCREASING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT ALTERATIONS IN DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, AND MICRORNA EXPRESSION PATTERNS CAN COLLECTIVELY INFLUENCE GENE EXPRESSION AND POTENTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO MPN PATHOGENESIS. EXAMPLES INCLUDE MUTATIONS IN GENES ENCODING PROTEINS THAT MODIFY CHROMATIN STRUCTURE (EZH2, ASXL1, IDH1/2, JAK2V617F, AND IKZF1) AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF GENES CRITICAL FOR CELL PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL (SUPPRESSORS OF CYTOKINE SIGNALING, POLYCYTHEMIA RUBRA VERA-1, CXC CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR 4, AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC)). THESE EPIGENETIC LESIONS SERVE AS NOVEL TARGETS FOR EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. CLINICAL TRIALS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY EVALUATING HDAC INHIBITORS AND DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITORS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH MPNS. 2011 18 2981 22 GENETIC COMPLEXITY OF CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. IN RECENT YEARS CMML HAS RECEIVED INCREASED ATTENTION AS THE MOST COMMONLY OBSERVED MDS/MPN OVERLAP SYNDROME. RENEWED INTEREST HAS OCCURRED IN PART DUE TO WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING PANELS THAT HELP RENDER THE DIAGNOSIS IN THE ABSENCE OF MORPHOLOGIC DYSPLASIA. ALTHOUGH MOST CMML PATIENTS EXHIBIT SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS, SPLICEOSOME COMPONENTS, TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION GENES, IT IS INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT A SMALL SUBSET HARBORS AN INHERITED PREDISPOSITION TO CMML AND OTHER MYELOID NEOPLASMS. MORE INTRIGUING IS THE FACT THAT THE MUTATIONAL SPECTRUM OBSERVED IN CMML IS FOUND IN OTHER TYPES OF MYELOID LEUKEMIAS, BEGGING THE QUESTION OF HOW SIMILAR GENETIC BACKGROUNDS CAN LEAD TO SUCH DIVERGENT CLINICAL PHENOTYPES. IN THIS REVIEW WE PRESENT A CONTEMPORARY SNAPSHOT OF THE GENETIC COMPLEXITY INHERENT TO CMML, EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENOTYPE-PHENOTYPE AND PRESENT A STEPWISE MODEL OF CMML PATHOGENESIS AND PROGRESSION. 2021 19 1242 41 CURRENT AND NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES. MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS) ARE A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF HEMATOLOGIC NEOPLASMS WITH AN ANNUAL INCIDENCE OF 4.1 CASES PER 100,000 AMERICANS. PATIENTS WITH MDS SUFFER FROM CHRONIC CYTOPENIAS THAT MAY LEAD TO RECURRENT TRANSFUSIONS, INFECTIONS, AND INCREASED RISK FOR BLEEDING. THEY ARE ALSO AT RISK FOR PROGRESSION TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION IS THE ONLY POTENTIALLY CURATIVE TREATMENT FOR MDS, ALTHOUGH 3 DRUGS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION FOR ITS TREATMENT: LENALIDOMIDE, 5-AZACITIDINE, AND DECITABINE. THESE THERAPIES CAN BE EFFECTIVE IN THE RELIEF OF CYTOPENIAS, ACHIEVEMENT OF CYTOGENETIC REMISSIONS, AND REDUCTION IN BONE MARROW BLASTS. 5-AZACITIDINE HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE OVERALL SURVIVAL. HOWEVER, THERE REMAIN MANY UNMET NEEDS IN THE TREATMENT OF MDS. BREAKTHROUGHS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX PATHOGENESIS OF MDS THROUGH EPIGENETIC, GENETIC, IMMUNOLOGIC, AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS HAVE ALLOWED US TO DEVELOP NEW THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES THAT CAN LEAD TO IMPROVEMENTS IN OUTCOMES IN MDS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE AIM TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE EVOLUTION IN CLASSIFCATION AND RISK STRATIFCATION IN MDS AND TO ILLUSTRATE HOW WE CAN USE THIS TO GUIDE US IN TAILORING THERAPEUTIC CHOICES IN THIS DISEASE. RESPONSES AND OUTCOMES RELATED TO COM MONLY USED MDS THERAPIES WILL BE DISCUSSED TOGETHER WITH NOVEL THERAPIES THAT HAVE EVOLVED WITH THE IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF MDS PATHOPHYSIOLOGY. 2014 20 958 34 CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA - A REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL MYELOID NEOPLASM, DENOTED BY OVERLAPPING MYELODYSPLASTIC AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE FEATURES, WITH POOR OVERALL SURVIVAL AND HIGH TRANSFORMATION RATE TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. AREAS COVERED: THIS REVIEW, FOLLOWING A THOROUGH MEDLINE SEARCH OF PERTINENT PUBLISHED LITERATURE, DISCUSSES THE DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA, THE PATHOGENESIS, AND THE COMPLEX GENETIC LANDSCAPE OF THE DISEASE. PROGNOSTICATION, RESPONSE CRITERIA, THERAPEUTIC MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS, EFFICACY OF ESTABLISHED AND NOVEL TREATMENT MODALITIES ARE THOROUGHLY REVIEWED. EXPERT OPINION: CYTOGENETIC ABNORMALITIES AND MUTATIONS IN GENES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION, AND CELL-SIGNALING ARE ABUNDANT IN CMML AND IMPLICATED IN ITS COMPLEX PATHOGENESIS. AS PRESENCE OF THESE MUTATIONS CARRY A PROGNOSTIC IMPACT, THEY ARE INCREASINGLY INCORPORATED IN RISK-STRATIFICATION SCHEMES. NOVEL RESPONSE CRITERIA HAVE BEEN PROPOSED, CONSIDERING THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE DISEASE. ALTHOUGH ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION REMAINS THE ONLY TREATMENT WITH CURATIVE INTENT, IT IS RESERVED FOR A MINORITY OF PATIENTS; THEREFORE, THERE IS AN UNMET NEED FOR OPTIMIZING TREATMENT MODALITIES, SUCH AS HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS, AND INTRODUCING NOVEL AGENTS, WHICH COULD SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVE SURVIVAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF CMML PATIENTS. CLINICAL TRIALS DEDICATED SPECIFICALLY TO CMML ARE NEEDED TO EXPLORE THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF NOVEL TREATMENT MODALITIES. 2021