Report from the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition — Benign Hematology

Editors from NEJM Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology attended the 55th meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held in New Orleans, December 7–10, 2013. Here, contributor Brendon McMahon, M.D., describes the latest findings in benign hematology.

Effect of Eltrombopag on Bone Marrow in Patients with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia

Early studies of thrombopoietin receptor agonists suggested an increase in bone marrow reticulin with extended use. Now, Brynes and colleagues have conducted an open-label, observational study (EXTEND; abstract 326) to evaluate the effects of eltrombopag on the bone marrow of patients with heavily treated, chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

A total of 209 bone-marrow biopsies were examined from 115…