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Advancements in Hematology: Molecular Biology and Targeted Therapies

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Hematology Unit, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood “Gaetano Barresi”, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Interests: chronic myeloid leukemia; flow cytometry; multidrug resistance; BCR-ABL1 oncogene
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Guest Editor
Center of Experimental Onco-Hematology (COES), Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Interests: oncology; hematology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recent advancements in hematology, particularly in the areas of molecular biology and targeted therapies, have significantly transformed the landscape of diagnosis and treatment for several hematological disorders, including leukemia, lymphoma, anemia, and other blood malignancies. 

Key developments in fields like molecular biology (genetic profiling and sequencing, biomarkers and gene expression, epigenetic modifications), targeted therapies (TKIs, monoclonal antibodies, CAR-T cell therapy, targeted inhibitors of epigenetic regulators, proteasome inhibitors), personalized medicine (risk stratification by genomic testing, detection of minimal residual disease), immunotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors (drugs inhibiting immune checkpoint proteins, bispecific antibodies), advancements in stem cell transplantation, are going to revolutionize the treatment of many hematologic diseases, enabling more precise and effective therapies.

Therefore, as research continues to uncover the genetic and molecular mechanisms of blood disorders, the potential for even more tailored and effective treatments in the future looks promising.

This Special Issue will try to cover and display some of these promising issues.

Dr. Fabio Stagno
Dr. Stefania Stella
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • hematological disorders
  • leukemia
  • lymphoma
  • anemia
  • blood malignancies
  • targeted therapies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 623 KiB  
Article
HAT-PCR Enables Sensitive Quantification of Minimal Residual Disease in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Myeloma
by Elizabeth Hughes, Sue Latham, Bryone Kuss, Scott Grist, Rachel Hall, Tiffany Khong, Malgorzata Gorniak, Andrew Spencer, Constantine Tam, Stephen Mulligan, Sheree Bailey, Mary Sartor, Dennis Carney, Gavin Cull, David Gottlieb and Alexander Morley
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(16), 7720; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167720 (registering DOI) - 10 Aug 2025
Abstract
The role of HAT-PCR (High A/T or High Annealing Temperature–PCR) in the quantification of minimal residual disease (MRD) was investigated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and myeloma. The IGH gene sequence was determined by next-generation sequencing [...] Read more.
The role of HAT-PCR (High A/T or High Annealing Temperature–PCR) in the quantification of minimal residual disease (MRD) was investigated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and myeloma. The IGH gene sequence was determined by next-generation sequencing (NGS), either by the Lymphotrack kit or by preparing libraries using an in-house two-round PCR protocol which enabled successful sequencing in 37/37 CLL marrow samples and 34/35 myeloma marrow samples. MRD was quantified by HAT-PCR in 125 CLL marrow or blood samples from 36 patients, with 2 results being less than 10−6 and in 63 myeloma marrow samples from 35 patients, with 10 results being less than 10−6. Measurement of MRD in 113 pairs of CLL samples and 51 pairs of myeloma samples showed that HAT-PCR was significantly more sensitive than flow. Compared to marrow MRD, blood MRD was relatively high in CLL but very low or undetectable in myeloma. Flow-positive HAT-PCR negative samples were not seen in myeloma, although the literature review suggested that flow-positive NGS-negative myeloma samples are sometimes observed. The ability of HAT-PCR to quantify down to and below 10−6 and the practical advantages of PCR suggest that HAT-PCR could be used widely for the quantification of MRD in lymphoid malignancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Hematology: Molecular Biology and Targeted Therapies)
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