Sickle cell disease heightens risk for precancerous blood disorder

These findings shed light on disruptions in normal blood cell development (hematopoiesis) that may be shared by sickle cell disease and clonal hematopoiesis.

Children with sickle cell disease are more likely than other children to develop a clonal growth of precancerous blood cells called clonal hematopoiesis (CH), which is associated in older people with a higher risk of blood cancer, according to new research from Vanderbilt Health.  

However, the clones in children with sickle cell disease did not expand as readily as they do in older people with CH, suggesting that they may be more transitory and have different health consequences, the researchers reported March 26 in the journal Blood.