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Grand RoundsWeekly Evidence Brief

Hematology

Edition

30-Second Takeaway

  • Phase 2 monotherapy cancer trials generally show lower efficacy and similar or higher toxicity versus phase 3.
  • Routine microbiome profiling or empiric microbiota-targeted therapies are not yet supported for routine hematology care.

Week ending May 16, 2026

Practical evidence brief: CHIP clinics, trial risk-benefit, PBM guidance, AML ex vivo testing, and microbiota in hematology

Operational model and value proposition for multidisciplinary CHIP clinics

BLOOD CANCER JOURNALMay 15, 2026

CHIP clinics provide a multidisciplinary framework for evaluation, risk assessment, trial referral, and registry creation for clonal hematopoiesis. The authors propose workflows for patient identification, team composition, and operational elements adaptable to academic and community settings. CHIP clinics enable preventive hematology activities and prospective real-world risk assessment tied to curated biorepositories. Translational impact is promising but depends on longer-term natural history data and emerging therapies.

Phase 2 monotherapy cancer trials show worse average efficacy than phase 3

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCERMay 12, 2026

Across 130 phase 2 and 52 phase 3 monotherapy arms, pooled objective response rates were 7% versus 24%, respectively. Median PFS was shorter in phase 2 (3.23 months vs 5.43 months) and median OS was also shorter. Grade 3–4 drug-related adverse events were at least as common in phase 2 (30%) as in phase 3 (25%). The authors conclude phase 2 monotherapy exposure is primarily justified as research rather than therapeutic care.

International PBM guidelines agree on restrictive transfusion thresholds but vary elsewhere

BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIAMay 12, 2026

This review analysed 40 national and institutional PBM guidelines across two decades. Most guidelines endorse restrictive transfusion, commonly using a threshold of Hb 7 g/dL or lower in many settings. Substantial variability exists in strategies to reduce diagnostic blood loss and in national standardisation efforts. The authors call for harmonisation and multidisciplinary coordination to expand safe PBM adoption.

References

Numbered in order of appearance. Click any reference to view details.

Additional Reads

Optional additional studies from this edition.

Edition context

Clinical signal

  • Consider building multidisciplinary CHIP clinics for structured evaluation, registries, and trial enrollment.
  • Informed consent for phase 2 trials should emphasize research intent over therapeutic expectation.
  • Standardize preanalytic and analytic steps before using ex vivo AML drug sensitivity for clinical decisions.