Clinical Haematology is the medical speciality dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of blood diseases, bone marrow and lymphoid organ pathologies. As shared by Dr Ana Montalvão, Clinic Haematologist at the HPA Alvor and HPA Gambelas, citing her university professor’s words “Haematology is the science that studies blood and the organs it bathes”.

The Haematology speciality addresses blood pathologies which can be arranged into two distinct areas. As Dr Ana explained, “Benign Haematology is the field which deals with red blood cell pathology as anaemia, polycythaemia, and platelet pathologies, whilst the other field is the Haemato-oncology, which deals with malignant haematology, mainly involving white blood cells such as lymphomas and leukaemias”. In other words, Haematology comprises two specialities integrated into one, that intersect to some extent, but which take a broad approach to what blood-related pathologies are.

According to the doctor, benign pathologies are more prevalent and, depending on their complexity, may even be identified and handled by other specialists. However, when it comes to the number of patients undergoing consultations, HPA’s doctors deal with an equal number of both pathologies since malignant disorders need ongoing monitoring and some patients can never be released, which drives up the number of consultations. Chronic leukaemia is among the most prevalent pathologies diagnosed by HPA’s Haematologist Clinic specialists, which can be partially justified by Portugal’s ageing population.


Constant Innovation

Research is moving towards eradicating diseases in a very specific way. “We have always seen great technological advances in Haematology, but lately these advances have strongly amplified”, Dr Ana emphasised. In certain areas medical innovation is constant, and besides helping in the understanding of different diseases, it also contributes to making treatments increasingly precise and less invasive. As the doctor further shared, “One of the major developments is that treatments are more targeted, more effective and less toxic, especially when it comes to Haemato-oncological pathologies”.

As medical knowledge is developing more and more CAR-T cells are now being used in the treatment of carcinogenesis, the process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. As Dr Ana Montalvão explains, “This is a completely new and exciting area - the idea of ​​manufacturing a treatment after removing cells from the patient, taking these cells and transforming them outside the body, so that they are active in treating the disease as agents of attack/remission - is exceptional”. This process is a paradigm shift in terms of toxicity management, and although it is not something that is yet being prescribed in the first line, it is undoubtedly the future for a large part of Haematology pathologies.


Medical Background

Dr Ana Montalvão's first contact with the Haematology speciality was when a Medical Pathologist took her to the hospital laboratory and she saw blood under a microscope for the first time. “I thought and still think that blood is the most beautiful thing. And besides being very beautiful it is also the closest thing we have in regards to seeing what it is to be alive and I guess I can call it a passion”.

Dr Ana undertook her undergraduate medicine course at Universidade Nova de Lisboa back in 1998, followed by a general internship (before entering the speciality) at the Hospital of Beja. “After graduating, I discovered that I liked working in a clinic, as working in a laboratory would have been very reducing in terms of communication, so it ended up being a natural choice, which I had been making since I studied Haematology in the 4th year of university”. Therefore, she ended up undertaking the speciality of Clinic Haematology at the Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental in 2007.

Positive Prospectus

Medical knowledge doubles every five years in a exponential way. As the doctor asserted, "In order to provide our patients with the best diagnosis and treatment possible, we must constantly stay up to date with technological advancements in our field because innovation happens so quickly". Hematologic pathologies can be treated in most Portuguese hospitals, however as Dr Ana has stated, "What positively distinguishes HPA, in my opinion, is the solemnity and ease with which a doctor can diagnose a patient, make the patient aware of the situation, and carry out treatment and evaluation”.

Working for 16 years at the Hospital of Beja where she funded the Hematology department, she moved to the Algarve in 2024 to work full time at the HPA clinics. Like everything else, the implementation of specific treatments, such as the use of bone marrow transplants in the treatment of blood malignancies, involves cost management, which according to Dr. Ana means that “a unit like HPA does not yet have the possibility of carrying out this treatment”, but as she further alleged, “I hope to see this possibility in the future, and I’m optimistic I will”.


For more information please contact Grupo HPA Saude on (+351) 282 420 400.

Author

After studying Journalism for five years in the UK and Malta, Sara Durães moved back to Portugal to pursue her passion for writing and connecting with people. A ‘wanderluster’, Sara loves the beach, long walks, and sports. 

Sara J. Durães