**Introduction**

and introduces novel insights in novel methodological approaches to study blood, as well as in our current understanding of the biology and clinical presentation, the risk assessment,

National Specialised Hospital for Active Treatment of Haematological Diseases

National Specialised Hospital for Active Treatment of Haematological Diseases

**Prof. Dr. Margarita Guenova, MD, PhD**

**Prof. Dr. Gueorgui Balatzenko, MD, PhD**

Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia, Bulgaria

Laboratory of Haemathopathology and Immunology

Laboratory of Cytogenetics and Molecular Biology

and therapeutic challenges in patients with hematological diseases.

VIII Preface

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Hematology in Times of**

**Introductory Chapter: Hematology in Times of** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76849

Hematological diseases are heterogeneous group of benign and malignant, inherited and acquired, acute and chronic disorders of different cell lineages that originate from a cell of the hematopoietic and lymphatic tissue with diverse incidence, etiology, pathogenesis, and

During the past two decades, hematological disorders have been extensively studied by means of classical laboratory approaches, for example, microscopy, immunophenotyping, clinical chemistry, genetic diagnostic tests such as conventional cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as well as by high-throughput technologies, including microarray-based platforms for the global analysis of DNA alterations (single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP); array, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH)), gene expression profiling (GEP), next-generation sequencing (NGS), digitalized imaging, and so on. Systemic application of these techniques has allowed for the refinement of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathological transformation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and disease progression in a number of hematological disorders. More importantly, they have permitted more precise and reproducible diagnoses of the different entities, risk stratification of patients, and treating them in the most appropriate manner with

Hematological malignancies account for around 8–9% of all cancers, being the fourth to fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer in economically developed regions of the world [1]. The

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Precision and Innovation**

**Precision and Innovation**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76849

**1. Introduction**

tailored therapeutic strategies.

**2. Hematological malignancies**

prognosis.

Gueorgui Balatzenko and Margarita Guenova

Gueorgui Balatzenko and Margarita GuenovaAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

#### **Chapter 1 Provisional chapter**

#### **Introductory Chapter: Hematology in Times of Precision and Innovation Introductory Chapter: Hematology in Times of Precision and Innovation**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76849

Gueorgui Balatzenko and Margarita Guenova Gueorgui Balatzenko and Margarita Guenova

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76849

**1. Introduction**

Hematological diseases are heterogeneous group of benign and malignant, inherited and acquired, acute and chronic disorders of different cell lineages that originate from a cell of the hematopoietic and lymphatic tissue with diverse incidence, etiology, pathogenesis, and prognosis.

During the past two decades, hematological disorders have been extensively studied by means of classical laboratory approaches, for example, microscopy, immunophenotyping, clinical chemistry, genetic diagnostic tests such as conventional cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as well as by high-throughput technologies, including microarray-based platforms for the global analysis of DNA alterations (single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP); array, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH)), gene expression profiling (GEP), next-generation sequencing (NGS), digitalized imaging, and so on. Systemic application of these techniques has allowed for the refinement of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathological transformation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and disease progression in a number of hematological disorders. More importantly, they have permitted more precise and reproducible diagnoses of the different entities, risk stratification of patients, and treating them in the most appropriate manner with tailored therapeutic strategies.
