This issue of Hematology/Oncology Clinics, guest edited by Patrick A. Ott, will focus on Immunotherapy in Cancer. Topics include, but are not limited to, Cancer Vaccines, Innate Immune stimulation, Costimulatory and Agonistic Antibodies, Immune modulation with radiation, Oncolytic virus therapy, Cytokine Therapy, Adoptive T cell transfer, Immune related toxicity, and Immune checkpoint combinations.

Circulation of blood is vital for the survival of vertebrates, including man. Mainly, it plays an important role in carrying food nutrients and oxygen to every tissue and organ and in removing all waste products and carbon dioxide. Any imbalance in the hemostatic and cardiovascular systems can lead to death and severe debility. A number of animals have developed mechanisms to target these systems and exploit the vulnerability. In some species (for example, snakes), such mechanisms are used to immobilize and kill the victim/prey, whereas in others (for example, insects, such as leaches, mosquitoes and ticks), they are used to provide a continuous supply of blood. These mechanisms include, but are not limited to, procoagulant and anticoagulant actions that affect the coagulation cascade and platelet aggregation, as well as altering vasodilatory responses. In all these various animals, these mechanisms have evolved to perfection over millions of years to support their survival. In last 3-4 decades, due to the efforts of scientists from various backgrounds including biology, protein chemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, hematology, and structural biology, significant progress in understanding the structure-function relationships, as well as the mechanism of action have been made in a number of exogenous factors that affect blood coagulation, platelet aggregation and vasodilation from various animals. These exogenous factors have contributed significantly to the development of research tools as well as providing new therapeutic agents. With the increase average age of the population coupled with changes in life style in recent years, there has been a significant increase in cardiovascular and hematological disorders. Thus scientists in both academic institutions as well as the pharmaceutical industry are developing better therapeutic agents to improve the quality of life. This impetus has lead to the search for novel agents from various sources that interfere with cardiovascular and hematalogical processes. Although at first glance exogenous factors appear to function as 'villains', several life-saving drugs have been developed based upon these factors. Such drugs or drug leads include those that inhibit the angiotensin converting enzymes (Captopril and Enalapril), that block platelet receptors (Eptifibatide and Tirofiban), or that digest thrombotic plugs (Alfimeprase and bat plasminogen activator) to name a few. Several new and exciting success stories are currently unfolding. In this book, recent studies on some of the exogenous factors that play crucial roles in cardiovascular and hematological disorders are reviewed in order to consolidate the efforts in this area of research and to recruit new, talented researchers. The 25-30 review chapters, each written by experts in their field, compiled herein are devoted to exogenous factors affecting platelet aggregation, anticoagulant and procoagulant proteins, fibrinolytic proteins and hypotensive agents (For details see, Contents of the Book). This book is intended to help to create elevated awareness and enthusiasm in the field of exogenous factors. I believe that this book will provide greater impetus to the search for novel proteins based on naturally occurring exogenous factors. This will be the first book dealing extensively with exogenous factors in the last 25 years. The book will provide a ready reference to the different approaches used to solve complex problems in protein chemistry and pharmacology of exogenous factors. The book will update our understanding of the structure-function relationships and mechanisms of action of exogenous factors and provide great insights into future directions for solving the remaining challenges.

This comprehensive volume discusses the current scope of umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT), including recent controversies and future developments for improving clinical outcomes. Its twenty chapters introduce new applications in regenerative medicine and discuss the latest scientific, regulatory, clinical and investigational aspects of cord blood banking. Physicians from around the world provide a global collaboration which explores strategies for umbilical cord blood expansion, homing, unit selection, and combining of graft sources to improve patient outcomes. Umbilical Cord Blood Banking and Transplantation also reviews advances in pediatric UCBT for hematologic and non-hematologic disorders as well as immune recovery, which is critical to preventing infection. Finally, it compares UCBT with other graft sources in an attempt to understand the optimal graft source for the individual patient.   UCBT is an important option for many patients who need a transplant but do not have a family donor or a matched unrelated donor. The collective and timely  knowledge presented here is essential reading for any regenerative medicine investigator, cord blood banker, transplant laboratory scientist or clinical physician interested in improving and expanding the applications of umbilical cord blood.

This book represents a major contribution to the emerging science of regenerative medicine using non-fetal sources of stem cells. The Editors, Dr Niranjan Bhattacharya and Professor Phillip Stubblefield, have brought together some of the most pre-eminent scientists working on regenerative medicine to share information on currently ongoing work in this area alongside unpublished observations that will help to shape the contours of future therapies. Regenerative Medicine: Using Non-Fetal Sources of Stem Cells discusses the potential clinical and therapeutic applications using non-fetal stem cells as well as providing instruction on the collection, isolation and characterization of stem cells from various non-fetal sources, such as menstrual blood, adipose tissue, breast milk and uprooted decidual teeth. This book will be an invaluable resource for both active researches and those entering the field. The Editors truly hope that the text will act as a stimulant to professionals and clinical scientists, who may be inspired to further the work of the pioneering scientists who have contributed to this volume.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in the Western world. CLL has a highly varied clinical course. While advances in CLL therapy are noted, many patients still succumb to this illness. Like most progress in medicine, solid advances in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of CLL are rooted in an in-depth understanding of the basic and translational biology of CLL. In this book, CLL experts have contributed state-of-the-art summaries of various important aspects of CLL biology and have discussed the translational implication of such findings. This book, which is directed at physicians and researchers alike, aims to educate broadly and deeply. Intentionally, the many aspects and nuances of CLL clinical care that can only really be appreciated through direct patient care are not covered here, but instead, the book presents basic aspects of CLL that underlie many of the contemporary decisions that are made in CLL research and clinical settings. We hope that this book will critically inform the community and stimulate interest in CLL, which will ultimately translate into better CLL research, prognostication and therapy, with the end goal of providing a better outlook for patients afflicted with this common leukemia.

This book, part of the series Rare Diseases of the Immune System, offers comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of the pathophysiology and management of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Immunologic and genetic aspects are discussed and the pathogenic mechanisms responsible for such phenomena as APS-mediated thrombosis and pregnancy loss/complications are explained. The main clinical manifestations, classification criteria and diagnostic tools are identified, and close attention is paid to the nature of the involvement of various organs or organ systems in APS. Specific chapters describe the treatment of the different symptoms, therapies of value in avoiding recurrences, and innovative treatment approaches. The authors are senior experts in the field who are aided by younger fellows, ensuring that the book is also educationally oriented. This handy volume will be a valuable tool for postgraduates in training and professionals wishing to extend their knowledge of this specific syndrome.

Increased knowledge on the pathogenesis of hematologic diseases has been translated into diagnostic and prognostic applications. Hematopathology and laboratory hematology were among the first disciplines to embrace molecular diagnostics. Hematological Malignancies:Methods and Protocols, explores molecular-based assays frequently used in the routine diagnostic hematopathology and laboratory hematology. Many of these protocols were initially developed as research applications and were further refined as they transitioned to the diagnostic laboratory. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Hematological Malignancies: Methods and Protocols aids scientist in the continuing study of tests essential for contemporary laboratory diagnostics of hematological neoplasms.

This is the third edition of a well-received compendium of information and guidance on the diagnosis and management of the various oncological diseases that are encountered in children and adolescents. In the new edition a chapter on Rare Tumors was added. For each disease entity, fundamental facts are provided that will be relevant for a range of professionals - hospital physicians, specialist nurses, psycho-oncologists, physiotherapists, family doctors and pediatricians. Compared with the first edition all chapters have been updated. Throughout, rapid orientation is ensured by the clear, consistent layout and the concise, lucid style. Pediatric Oncology: A Comprehensive Guide is an excellent, easy-to-use reference that belongs on the shelf of every practitioner who encounters or treats malignancies in the pediatric age group. Pediatric Oncology is teamwork! Fundamental facts for all those involved in diagnosis and management - even social worker, pedagogic teachers, religious care persons.

This third edition expands upon the role of anticoagulants in clinical practice. In addition, it summarizes new developments in the field and provides evidence-based guidelines for the use of anticoagulants in routine day-to-day practice. The Handbook of Thromboprophylaxis Third Edition is a key resource for all physicians with an interest in thromboprophylaxis.

This book will provide an overview of how to manage patients with lymphoma in the format of a series of engaging case studies. Lymphomas are cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. There are two main types of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These lymphomas comprise various subtypes with prognosis and treatment depending on the stage and type of the cancer. Lymphoma is a major global health problem; non-Hodgkin lymphoma in particular is the tenth most common type of cancer worldwide. In response to this there have been a number of significant advances in the available treatment options for lymphoma with new breakthrough drugs being approved or registered for approval. In light of this, this case study book will be an extremely timely guide for all hematologists, oncologists, and healthcare professionals wishing to keep up-to-date with these recent developments. The format of this book is also particularly appealing as it offer readers a practical approach to the clinical management of patients with these conditions as suggested by leading physicians from the City of Hope National Medical Center in California, USA in an era of vast therapeutic development.

The blood system is multi-scale, from the organism to the organs to cells to intracellular signaling pathways to macromolecule interactions. Blood consists of circulating cells, cellular fragments (platelets and microparticles), and plasma macromolecules. Blood cells and their fragments result from a highly-ordered process, hematopoiesis. Definitive hematopoiesis occurs in the bone marrow, where pluripotential stem cells give rise to multiple lineages of highly specialized cells. Highly-productive and continuously regenerative, hematopoiesis requires a microenvironment of mesenchymal cells and blood vessels. A Systems Biology Approach to Blood is divided into three main sections: basic components, physiological processes, and clinical applications. Using blood as a window, one can study health and disease through this unique tool box with reactive biological fluids that mirrors the prevailing hemodynamics of the vessel walls and the various blood cell types. Many blood diseases, rare and common can and have been exploited using systems biology approaches with successful results and therefore ideal models for systems medicine. More importantly, hematopoiesis offers one of the best studied systems with insight into stem cell biology, cellular interaction, development; linage programing and reprograming that are every day influenced by the most mature and understood regulatory networks.

George Henry Falkiner Nuttall (1862-1937) was an American-British bacteriologist who made significant contributions to various aspects of medicine. In this book, which was first published 1904, Nuttall provides a record of investigations carried out in the Pathological Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, chiefly during 1902. The text presents a demonstration of blood relationships among animals by means of the precipitin test for blood. A bibliography is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in haematology and the history of science.

Originally published in 1900, this book contains an English edition of Ehrlich and Lazarus' observations on the science of blood and bloodwork. The text covers topics such as methods of investigating the morphology of the blood, the significance of cell-granules and certain blood diseases. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of medicine.

MRI provides the best means of imaging the bone marrow directly and of non-invasively assessing its composition. Normal age-related bone marrow changes, alterations related to red marrow reconversion, and pathological bone marrow processes generally conform to certain patterns that reflect the underlying marrow changes and can be clearly recognized on MR images. In addition to conventional pulse sequences, advanced MRI techniques such as Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI and Diffusion-Weighted Imaging depict marrow changes at the microvascular and cellular level respectively. This book provides radiologists with in-depth information on the MRI appearances of normal, abnormal and treated marrow following a structured, pattern-based approach. MRI findings for various diseases that affect the bone marrow, particularly those of a malignant nature, are presented in detail. MRI pattern recognition not only offers a systematic approach to image interpretation and diagnosis but also has prognostic implications with regard to some disease entities. Each chapter includes a wealth of high-quality images, together with Key Points summarizing the most important information. In addition to radiologists, practitioners with an interest in hematology and oncology will find this textbook-atlas to be a valuable resource for the latest, clinically relevant advances in bone marrow imaging.

This volume is a collection of immunohematology and transfusion medicine cases, comprised of clinical vignettes and antibody panels with questions based on each case, arranged in a workbook format. The cases are based on real patient problems which are typically encountered and covers a number of common issues and challenging problems in blood banking and transfusion practice. Discussion and resolution of each case is provided in a separate answer section, including up-to-date information on pertinent advances in the field. Written by experts in the field, Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine: A Case Study Approach provides an interactive tool to help make blood banking and transfusion medicine memorable, practical, and relevant to residents and fellows.

Typically, manuals of pediatric hematology-oncology are written by specialists from high-income countries, and usually target an audience with a sub-specialist level of training, often assisted by cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment facilities. However, approximately 80% of new cases of cancer in children appear in mid- and low-income countries. Almost invariably, general practitioners or general pediatricians without special training in oncology will look after children with malignancies who enter the health care system in these countries. The diagnostic facilities are usually limited, as are the treatment options. The survival figures in these conditions are somewhere below 20%, while in high-income countries they are in the range of 80% for many childhood cancers. Pediatric Hematology-Oncology in Countries with Limited Resources is the only book of its kind to provide specific guidance applicable to limited resource settings and builds up from the foundation of general practitioner or general pediatrician competence. Written and edited by leaders in the field, this manual educates physicians on the essential components of the discipline, filtered through the experience of specialists from developing countries, with immediate applicability in the specific healthcare environment in these countries.

There have been many changes in the field of coagulation during the past decade. New concepts of epidemiology of risk factors for thrombosis now help clinicians predict who is more likely to form clots after surgery, or after being placed on oral contraceptives. New anticoagulants have the potential to redefine how patients with atrial fibrillation and venous thrombosis are managed. There are new forms of recombinant clotting factors which have changed our approach to hypofibrinogenemia and von Willebrand s disease. Newer antiplatelet agents are available and their use in patients receiving cardiac stents has mushroomed. The management of thrombosis in the setting of pregnancy has changed over the past decade, as well as the way clinicians approach women with multiple miscarriages. An entire new class of compounds, the thrombopoietins, are available to treat individuals with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

"The Coagulation Consult"covers major topics of interest to hematologists who are asked to consult on individuals with coagulation related diseases, and encompasses the field s most recent developments. This case-directed book describes state-of-the-art approaches to patients with bleeding and clotting disorders, as well as laboratory tests for coagulation. Chapters include different vignettes, focus on typical clinical consult questions, and lay out specific types of treatment. Practicing clinicians being confronted withcoagulation consult students, residents, fellows and attending physicians will find this unique text an invaluable resource for some of the newer areas of coagulation science, therapy and pharmacology."

In this newly updated second edition, Reinhold Munker and his distinguished colleagues offer a concise up-to-date summary of the fundamentals of clinical hematology, including all the most recent developments. Their comprehensive survey presents the essential clinical facts concerning malignant and nonmalignant blood diseases, detailing diagnostic methods, angiostatic drugs, the very latest therapies, classifications, scientific controversies, and clear treatment recommendations. They also illuminate the scientific basis needed to understand the new diagnostic and treatment methodologies, infections relevant for hematology, the molecular pathogenesis of many hematologic disorders, storage disorders, and the new cellular therapies for these malignant disorders.

First published in 1925, this two-volume work deals with the blood's role in respiration. This first volume analyses the effect of high altitudes on the blood's ability to retain and diffuse oxygen. The text is illustrated with diagrams, maps and photographs relating to the changes human physiology undergoes at altitude, including changes in circulation rate, pulse and the nature of red corpuscles. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of medicine or in haematology.

First published in 1925, this two-volume work deals with the blood's role in respiration. This second volume deals with haemoglobin as a chemical substance. The text is illustrated with diagrams and drawings relating to, among other things, haemoglobin's specificity, its manufacture in the body and how it is affected by temperature changes. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of medicine or in haematology.

This book provides clinical practitioners and the research community with detailed information on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, taking into account the significant growth in knowledge including multiple therapeutic advances that have been achieved over the past 5-10 years. The work is subdivided into epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathology, imaging, and therapy of the non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The full range of therapeutic options are examined according to the major subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the most up-to-date information is provided on current standard treatment options, including stem cell transplantation as well as new cutting-edge therapeutics.

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by complex heterogenous cytogenetic abnormalities that accounts for 1.4% of all cancers, and approximately 10% of hematologic malignancies. The clinical manifestations of multiple myeloma include lytic bone lesions, cytopenia, hypercalcemia, renal dysfunction, hyperviscosity of the blood, immunodeficiency, and peripheral neuropathy. Based on the clinical and genetic data, probably all cases of multiple myeloma arise from an asymptomatic monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance. The exact mechanism of the transition from MGUS to overt multiple myeloma is still not well understood. Recent oncogenomic studies have further advanced our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of multiple myeloma. This book will give a comprehensive overview of the genetic and molecular epidemiology of multiple myeloma in order to get a more refined and conclusive understanding of this disease.

It has been generally accepted that angiogenesis is involved in the pathogenesis of hematological malignancies, like acute and chronic leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative neoplasms and multiple myeloma. The extent of angiogenesis in the bone marrow has been correlated with disease burden, prognosis and treatment outcome. Reciprocal positive and negative interactions between tumor cells and bone marrow stromal cells, namely hematopoietic stem cells, fibroblasts, osteoblasts/osteoclasts, endothelial cells, endothelial progenitor cells, T cells, macrophages and mast cells, mediated by an array of cytokines, receptors and adhesion molecules, modulate the angiogenic response in hematological tumors. More recently, it has been emphasized the pro-angiogenic role of the so called “vascular niche�, indicating a site rich in blood vessels where endothelial cells and mural cells such as pericytes and smooth muscle cells create a microenvironment that affects the behavior of several stem and progenitor cells, in hematological malignancies.

This book comprehensively describes the physiological changes and consequences that occur in humans during spaceflight. It specifically presents the adaptations of the cardiovascular and the respiratory system. Specific changes occurring after 10, 20 or more days in space are depicted. Furthermore, the book explains various effective countermeasures that are required upon return of the astronauts to Earth. The book is a must-have for all biomedical and clinical researchers in the field of cardiovascular biology and respiration, and a fascinating reading for all interested laymen, who wish to understand a bit more about spaceflight research and technology.