Community Practice Connections™: Cold Agglutinin Disease: Shifting the Treatment Paradigm Through Improved Understanding of the Complement System

Target Audience

The target audience for this activity is hematologists and hematologist-oncologists. Pediatricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians involved in the management of patients with CAD are also invited to attend.The target audience for this activity is hematologists and hematologist-oncologists. Pediatricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians involved in the management of patients with CAD are also invited to attend.

Program Overview

Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia in which the body erroneously recognizes antigens on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs) as foreign, leading to activation of the classic complement system and, ultimately, destruction of RBCs. In severe forms, CAD can lead to heart failure and venous thromboembolism. The management of CAD is often difficult due to the limited availability of treatment options. However, the treatment landscape is shifting as novel therapies are being developed based on improved understanding of the role of the complement system in the pathogenesis of CAD.

This Community Practice Connection™ program provides an in-depth review of some of the key highlights from a recent satellite symposium, entitled, Cold Agglutinin Disease: Shifting the Treatment Paradigm Through Improved Understanding of the Complement System, held in December 2021. This unique and engaging multimedia activity is ideal for the community-based clinician and focuses on the practical aspects of managing patients with CAD, putting recent clinical trial data into clinical context. The program is designed for those who did not attend the live meeting and to help reinforce learnings for those who did.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

Describe the clinical burden of CAD
Identify the relationship between the complement system and the onset of CAD
Apply disease-specific tests that may be used to diagnose CAD based on clinical manifestations
Select complement-mediated therapies for the treatment of CAD based on current and emerging evidence