Podcast: Mastering Systemic Mastocytosis: From Early Detection to Tailored Treatment Strategies - Module 1

What you'll learn

Course overview

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare mast cell disease, characterized by the proliferation of aberrant mast cells in cutaneous and extracutaneous tissues. Due to its nonspecific symptoms, SM is often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, limiting the opportunity to intervene early in the disease process, initiate therapy, and reduce symptom burden. Patients with SM can experience anaphylaxis; cutaneous symptoms such as flushing, itching, and hives; gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting; neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression and mood changes; and musculoskeletal symptoms such as bone pain, muscle pain, and osteoporosis. It is crucial that members of the interdisciplinary care team maintain awareness of the signs and symptoms of SM in order to make a definitive diagnose and improve patients quality of life (Tse et al, 2024). In Module 1 of this podcast, Dr. Mariana Castells, Director of the Drug Hypersensitivity and Desensitization Center and Director of the Mastocytosis Center at Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will explore the diagnosis of SM from suspicion to confirmation.