Gene therapy in sickle cell disease: patient selection, potential complications, & more

In this episode of the VJHemOnc podcast you will hear from Akshay Sharma, MBBS, MSc, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, who takes a deep dive into gene therapy for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD). Dr Sharma begins by discussing the status of gene therapy in SCD, outlining considerations for clinicians when selecting patients for these therapies, and commenting on the risk of infection. He then touches on the role of palliative care in patients with SCD undergoing gene therapy or transplantation, and provides his view on the benefits and challenges of gene therapy in this non-malignant hematological disorder. Finally, you will hear Dr Sharma's valuable insight into the risk of leukemia after lentiviral gene therapy.