Social Media and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)—Focus on Twitter and the Development of a Disease-specific Community: #MPNSM

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Pemmaraju ◽  
Vikas Gupta ◽  
Ruben Mesa ◽  
Michael A. Thompson
Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 1455-1455
Author(s):  
Jung Sook Ha ◽  
Jae Hee Lee ◽  
Sung Gyun Park ◽  
Nam Hee Ryoo ◽  
Dong Suk Jeon ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1455 Background: Since the acquired somatic mutation, JAK2 V617F, was discovered as a first molecular marker of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), and it has been detected variably in each MPN subtypes. However, JAK2 V617F does not found in all of MPN cases and not necessarily specific to a particular clinicpathologic entity. Recently, mutation of the putative tumor suppressor gene, Ten-Eleven-Translocation-2(TET2), has been identified in MPN patients. However, the frequency of TET2 mutation or its relationship with JAK2 V617F mutation or pathologic function in MPN has not been concluded, yet. The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of TET2 in MPN patients, and whether there is any correlation of TET2 mutation with JAK2V617F mutation or the clinicohematologic parameters. Materials and Methods: Total 99 adult MPN patients (18 PV, 62 ET, 11 PMF and 8 MPN unclassified) whose bone marrow cells had been stored from 2007 to 2010 at point of first diagnosis were included in this study. Hematological diagnoses and subtyping were reconfirmed according to the 2008 WHO classification and clinicohematologic datas were collected from patient records. Direct sequencing for TET2(exon3–11) and JAK2 (exons 12 and 14) were performed using an ABI 3730XL DNA analyzer. The JAK2V617F allele burdens were determined by pyrosequencing for samples available and MPL was analyzed by allele-specific PCR. Results: The overall TET2 mutational frequency was 12.1%, and disease-specific mutational frequencies were 22.2% in PV, 9.7% in ET and 18.2% in PMF. The found mutations included 11 mutations, 7 frame-shift (p.Lys95AsnfsX18, p.Gln967AsnfsX40, p.Lys1022GlufsX4, p.Asp1314MetfsX49, p.Gln1534AlafsX43, p.Tyr1618LeufsX4, p.Leu1609GlufsX45), 1 nonsense (p.Gly1735X), 1 missense (Q599R) and 2 splicing mutations (c.3409+1G>T, c.4044+2insT). Those mutations most frequently involved exon 3(four mutations) and exon 11(four mutaions), and rarely intron 3, intron 8 and exon 7. None of the mutations were associated with a karyotypically apparent 4q24 rearrangement. All patients were also screened for JAK2 V617F, and the overall JAK2 V617F positive rate was 68%(94.4% in PV, 69.4% in ET, 45.5% in PMF and 37.5% in MPN, unclassified). All TET2 mutations occurred in JAK2 V617F positive cases. JAK2 exon12 mutation was not found in all patients. MPL W515L was found in one ET patient who also carried JAK2V617F, but not TET2 mutation. Information on JAK2 V617F allele burden was available in 78 patients. Considering all 99 patients, the patient age, hematologic indexes (leukocyte count, neutrophil fraction, lymphocyte fraction, monocyte fraction, Hb, Hct and platelet count), the frequency of organomegaly, marrow fibrosis or thrombotic/hemorrhagic complications were not different according to carrying TET2 mutation. However, TET2 mutation was more frequently found in JAK2 V617F carriers than non-carriers (P=0.008), but JAK2 V617F allele burden did not correlated with the presence of mutant TET2. When analysis was performed for each PV, ET, and PMF (no TET2 mutation in MPN-unclassifiable patients), correlation between TET2 and JAK2 V617F mutational status was not found in each subtypes (P=0.078 in PV, P=0.099 in ET and P=0.182 in PMF). However, the JAK2 V617F allele burden was significantly higher in PMF harboring TET2 mutation than PMF patients did not (88.0 ± 4.3% vs 19.1 ± 28.7%, P=0.034). In statistical analysis for the correlations of clinicohematologic parameters with TET2 mutation in each PV, ET and PMF patients, only a few statistically significant results were identified. The presence of TET2 mutation was correlated with high Hct in PMF (47.4 ± 5.4 vs 25.5 ± 6.2, P=0.037), and TET2 positive ET patients showed relatively higher frequency of organomegaly compared to ET patients without TET2 mutation (50% vs 19.6%, P=0.018). Conclusions: The overall and disease-specific frequencies of TET2 mutation in our study are similar with previous studies, and frame-shift mutation is the most frequent mutation type. There is no specific relationship between JAK2 V617F and TET2 mutation occurrence, but TET2 mutant PMF has higher JAK2 V617F allele burden than non-mutant. TET2 mutation is also associated with a higher Hct in PMF and higher frequency of organomegaly in ET. Larger scale studies involving more MPN patients are needed. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 242-242
Author(s):  
Allyson J. Ocean ◽  
Niraj Jaysukh Gusani ◽  
Muhammad Shaalan Beg ◽  
Anirban Maitra ◽  
Julissa Viana ◽  
...  

242 Background: Twitter provides a platform for health care stakeholders to disseminate information about diseases to patients, caregivers, and doctors. Chats are especially effective because participants can interact directly with experts. Pancreatic cancer (PC) conversations on Twitter previously were sporadic and inconsistent. The authors report the creation of #PancChat, a first-of-its-kind Tweet Chat developed to provide relevant, credible, and timely information to the PC community. A collaboration between leading PC organizations, a pharmaceutical company, and an academic oncologist, PancChat is an example of successful outreach using an accessible communications tool. Methods: Launched in April 2016, the hour-long monthly chat is a live event publicized and promoted through multiple social media channels and major news outlets. It is moderated and focused around a pre-selected topic. The hashtag #PancChat is used to filter specific chatter into a single conversation. Participants include patients, caregivers, physicians, researchers, top ASCO social media influencers, AACR members, and advocacy organizations. Moderators and participants are drawn from 23 academic institutions. The PancChat team corresponds with participants and replies to tweets that are not addressed during the chat. Results: Since its inception, PancChat has had a total of 28 million impressions (the total number of times each tweet is seen) from 16 chats, averaging 1.75 million per chat. Popular topics include clinical trials (1.4 million), familial/hereditary PC (2.9 million), and early detection (2.2 million). The average engagement rate is 72% which measures how much people interact with a tweet by clicking or sharing links. From April 2016-August 2017 there were 8,502 tweets using #PancChat. Conclusions: Impression and engagement numbers show that this novel PancChat platform fulfills a need for the PC community. The narrow focus of each chat provides an opportunity to learn about the disease, research, and clinical trials. Participants return knowing that they will interact with PC experts. The popularity of PancChat among patients and doctors confirms the power of social media to reach a specific community.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Booth ◽  
Timothy Bell ◽  
Sonia Halhol ◽  
Shiyu Pan ◽  
Verna Welch ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Until recently, treatment options were limited for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (AML and MDS) who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Owing to the condition’s rapid progression, it is difficult to identify what is most important to patients when making treatment decisions. Patients’ needs can be better addressed by gaining a deeper understanding of their perspectives, which is valuable in the decision-making process. The Food and Drug Administration recently encouraged the use of social media as a tool to gain insight on patients’ perspectives regarding symptoms experienced and the impacts of their disease. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to use disease-specific social media posts by patients with AML or MDS who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy and their caregivers to capture factors they feel are most important, and to provide current evidence to inform and characterize these perspectives. METHODS Posts by patients with AML or MDS and their caregivers were extracted from publicly available discussions on 3 large AML- or MDS–specific sites. These posts were manually reviewed to only include patients who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. A total of 1443 posts from 220 AML patients/caregivers and 2733 posts from 127 MDS patients/caregivers met the study inclusion criteria. A qualitative data analysis (QDA) of a sample of 85 patients’/caregivers’ posts was conducted to identify themes, and a targeted QDA of posts from 79 users focused on treatment decision discussions. Posts were manually reviewed, and relevant text segments were coded and grouped into categories and overall themes. RESULTS Eighty-six percent (73/85) of users in the overall QDA had relevant information about the key objectives. The most commonly discussed treatment experience theme was the humanistic burden of AML or MDS in terms of emotional/physical impact and impact on family (86%, 63/73 of users), followed by treatment decisions (56%, 41/73) and unmet needs (50%, 37/73). In the QDA of treatment decisions, 60 posts from 45 users contained relevant information. Patients commonly reported the desire to reach specific milestones, including birthdays and weddings. They wished for a better quality of life over quantity of life, did not want the risk of suffering from side effects, and expressed a clear preference to be at home rather than in a hospital or care home. CONCLUSIONS This study was a novel application of disease-specific social media. It highlighted experiences in the current treatment of AML and MDS, including information gaps, patient/caregiver uncertainty, and the importance of understanding patients’/caregivers’ goals and opinions. A clear finding from this research was the importance of reaching certain personal life goals and being at home with family and friends. The analysis showed that patients/caregivers face additional challenges, including humanistic impacts and a lack of information regarding treatment options.


Author(s):  
Ishwaria M. Subbiah ◽  
Erika Hamilton ◽  
Miriam Knoll ◽  
Kelly Shanahan ◽  
Jane Meisel

Emerging modalities of communication have transformed the landscape of information dissemination particularly in the context of health care. Within oncology, stakeholders in all roles have formed both role-specific and multidisciplinary communities within the modalities of social media. Two platforms with particularly high adoption and penetration within oncologic practice for clinicians and general oncologic care as well as for patients and the community have been Facebook and Twitter. On both platforms, patients have come together to form disease-specific (or even mutation-specific) groups ripe with discussion on all aspects of their cancer, including disease and treatment symptoms, novel therapeutics, and clinical trial participation. Similarly, clinicians have united within professional communities to facilitate collaboration and community building in this rapidly changing medical practice landscape. Here, we investigate the current state of stakeholder engagement within social media and review strategies and platforms to maximize the impact of social media for patients and clinicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3399
Author(s):  
Dorian Forte ◽  
Flaminia Fanelli ◽  
Marco Mezzullo ◽  
Martina Barone ◽  
Giulia Corradi ◽  
...  

Growing evidence highlights the endocannabinoid (EC) system involvement in cancer progression. Lipid mediators of this system are secreted by hematopoietic cells, including the ECs 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2AG) and arachidonoyl-ethanolamide (AEA), the 2AG metabolite 1AG, and members of N-acylethanolamine (NAE) family—palmitoyl-ethanolamide (PEA) and oleoyl-ethanolamide (OEA). However, the relevance of the EC system in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) was never investigated. We explored the EC plasma profile in 55 MPN patients, including myelofibrosis (MF; n = 41), polycythemia vera (PV; n = 9), and essential thrombocythemia (ET; n = 5) subclasses and in 10 healthy controls (HC). AEA, PEA, OEA, 2AG, and 1AG plasma levels were measured by LC–MS/MS. Overall considered, MPN patients displayed similar EC and NAE levels compared to HC. Nonetheless, AEA levels in MPN were directly associated with the platelet count. MF patients showed higher levels of the sum of 2AG and 1AG compared to ET and PV patients, higher OEA/AEA ratios compared to HC and ET patients, and higher OEA/PEA ratios compared to HC. Furthermore, the sum of 2AG and 1AG positively correlated with JAK2V617F variant allele frequency and splenomegaly in MF and was elevated in high-risk PV patients compared to in low-risk PV patients. In conclusion, our work revealed specific alterations of ECs and NAE plasma profile in MPN subclasses and potentially relevant associations with disease severity.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 2099-2099
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Knight ◽  
Myra Robinson ◽  
Jing Ai ◽  
Brittany K Ragon ◽  
Rhonda Davis ◽  
...  

Background: Financial Toxicity (FT) is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in a variety of cancers. Previous research has demonstrated patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) exhibit a substantial comorbidity burden and have an increased risk of mortality. The purpose of this study was to define rates of FT and the implications on morbidity and mortality in this population using patient reported data. Methods: All patients seen at the Levine Cancer Institute, a tertiary hospital-based specialty practice, were surveyed prior to their visit over a six-month period. All patients were aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome−negative classical MPNs including myelofibrosis (MF), polycythemia vera (PV), and essential thrombocythemia (ET). The survey consisted of the PROMIS Global-10 measure and two questions from the COST measure. FT was defined as scoring 4 or less (maximum: 10) in agreement with the COST questions: "I know that I have enough money in savings, retirement, or assets to cover the costs of my treatment" and "I am satisfied with my current financial situation." Patient disease and treatment characteristics were summarized with frequencies and proportions for categorical variables and medians and ranges for continuous variables. Correlation of numerical FT scores with PROMIS scores was assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients and ANOVA regression. Additionally, model selection was carried out using logistic regression to identify factors impacting the incidence of financial toxicity (where FT score <=4). Kaplan Meier methods were used to estimate overall survival distributions and log rank tests were used to compare between groups. Results: A total of 51 patients were surveyed. Disease type consisted of 45.1% MF, 31.4% PV, and 23.5% ET. Median age was 62 years. Most patients were high risk by disease specific scoring systems (58.8%), Caucasian (82.4%), and had commercial insurance (56.9%). Median distance from the clinic was 21 miles and median time from diagnosis was 2.2 years. Of the 51 patients surveyed, 20 (39.2%) met the predefined definition of exhibiting severe FT. Lower FT scores (indicating a higher degree of FT) were associated with lower global physical (p < .001) and mental (p < .002) scores by the PROMIS measures (Figure 1). There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients with FT scores >4 compared to patients with FT scores <=4; however, there was a trend toward decreased survival in those with lower FT scores. The rate of mortality in those with FT score ≤4 was 15.0% compared to 3.2% in those with FT score >4 (p =.287). There also appeared to be a separation of the survival curves when looking at both time from diagnosis and time from survey administration (Figures 2 and 3). Age, race, gender, insurance type, distance from the hospital, disease type, disease specific risk classification, medications utilized, and history of blood/marrow transplant were not found to be significantly different in the two groups. Conclusions: Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms represent an extremely vulnerable population for financial toxicity with quantifiably increased distress related to this toxicity increasing morbidity and potentially mortality. These findings should be validated in a larger patient cohort and interventions devised to reduce financial distress. Disclosures Knight: Foundation for Financial Planning: Research Funding. Ai:InCyte: Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Speakers Bureau. Trivedi:Incyte: Speakers Bureau. Avalos:Best Practice-Br Med J: Patents & Royalties: receives royalties from a coauthored article on evaluation of neutropenia; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Symanowski:Boston Biomedical: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Carsgen Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Eli Lilly: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Immatics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Grunwald:Amgen: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding; Genentech/Roche: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Trovagene: Consultancy; Agios: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Cardinal Health: Consultancy; Forma Therapeutics: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Medtronic: Equity Ownership; Janssen: Research Funding.


Hematology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
pp. 710-717
Author(s):  
Anna Falanga

Abstract Both myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are characterized by an intrinsic thrombotic risk. Little is known about the incidence and the outcome of thrombotic events in patients with MPN infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but common mechanisms of coagulation activation, typical of both disorders, suggest that these patients can be at particularly high risk. To define the best thromboprophylaxis and treatment regimens in both MPN and COVID-19, individual- and disease-specific thrombotic risk factors, bleeding risk, and concomitant specific treatments need to be considered. In this case-based review, an individualized approach is presented in a case of SARS-CoV-2 infection occurring in a man with polycythemia vera (PV). A primary anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis strategy and adjustment of his PV treatment were implemented. However, during the hospital stay, he experienced pulmonary embolism and therapeutic anticoagulation had to be set. Then his condition improved, and discharge was planned. Postdischarge decisions had to be made about the type and duration of venous thromboembolism treatment as well as the management of PV-specific drugs. The steps of our decisions and recommendations are presented.


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