Dr Enric Carreras awarded the 4th Antonio Raichs Prize by the Spanish Society of Haematology and Haemotherapy

The Spanish Society of Haematology and Haemotherapy (SEHH) has awarded its 4th Antonio Raichs Prize to the haematologist Enric Carreras Pons, who has directed the Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO), created and managed by the Josep Carreras Foundation, for more than two decades.

This award, sponsored by Diagnóstica Longwood, comes with a cash prize of 10,000 euros, all of which will be donated to the Foundation.

The Antonio Raichs Prize, created four years ago, is awarded to the speaker who delivers the Antonio Raichs Memorial Lecture at the National Congress of the SEHH, the last of which was held in Palma de Mallorca last October.

The central theme of Dr Carreras’ lecture, which was of great importance in the context of this Congress, given the recognition of the scientific and professional careers of its speakers, was the discussion of the role of endothelial dysfunction (a disorder in which the endothelium – the inner layer of blood vessels – loses its ability to regulate key functions such as blood circulation, inflammation and coagulation) in the pathogenesis of various early complications following haematopoietic transplantation (commonly known as bone marrow transplantation).

As Dr Carreras points out, “fortunately, these complications are rare, but when they do occur, they have an enormous clinical impact due to their high morbidity and mortality and the fact that, in most cases, there are no effective treatments”.

Although these complications are rare, they do exist and may go unnoticed, masked by the many additional complications of transplantation (toxicity of the conditioning regimen, infections, adverse drug reactions, immune reactions, etc.). For this reason, “it is essential to think about them and to look consciously, actively and daily for the possible presence of symptoms and signs that will allow us to make an early diagnosis”.

Basically, there are two fundamental challenges in this field:

1) The search for biomarkers, imaging tests or other techniques that enable an early and unequivocal diagnosis of the complication, and

2) The search for pharmacological agents capable of preventing or treating endothelial dysfunction.

Therefore, in the words of Dr Carreras, ‘there is ample room for improvement’. In his opinion, ‘knowledge about the role of the endothelium in the development of these complications and in many other diseases is still in its infancy, and until we understand the intimate physiopathological mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction we will not be able to act on them effectively’.

Enric Carreras Pons is a renowned haematologist, trained at the University of Barcelona and in the Department of Haematology at the Hospital Clínic, under the direction of Professor Ciril Rozman.

After his training period, he joined the staff of the Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) Unit, where he worked from 1976 to 2010. In 1995, he took over as director of the SCT Programme at the Hospital Clínic.

In 2010 he moved to the Josep Carreras Foundation to become director of REDMO, a position he held until last year.

He has also been president of the Spanish Group for Haematopoietic Transplantation and a member of the board of directors of the SEHH.