Some studies have demonstrated a higher risk of venous thrombosis among Americans of African ancestry than among those of European ancestry in both the general population and adults with cancer. Zheng and colleagues performed a retrospective cohort evaluation of thrombosis risk in 1,005 ancestrally diverse children treated for newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In this cohort, clinical rather than genetic factors dominated the risk of thrombosis and genetic risks aggregated in erythrocyte-related single nucleotide polymorphisms, suggesting the critical role of red cells in this phenomenon. This study provides opportunities to target prophylactic interventions to reduce thrombosis in children treated for ALL.

Since sickle cell diseases (SCD) pathobiology includes activation of the innate immune system with sterile inflammation and a “cytokine storm”, introduction of a drug that targets SCD inflammation might improve outcomes. Fouda and colleagues hypothesized that colchicine, a drug used for the treatment or prevention of symptoms of gout and other non-infectious inflammatory conditions, might reduce inflammation and improve the clinical course of SCD. They demonstrated reduced inflammation after colchicine treatment in the HbSS-BERK humanized transgenic mouse model of SCD and speculated that colchicine could benefit patients with this disorder.