Hypereosinophilic syndrome: current approach to diagnosis and treatment

Hypereosinophilic syndrome is a heterogeneous group of rare disorders characterized by marked blood or tissue eosinophilia resulting in a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Although the existence of clinical subtypes (or variants) of HES has been appreciated for some time, the recent characterization of some of these variants at the molecular and immunologic levels has demonstrated dramatic differences in disease pathogenesis, response to treatment, and prognosis depending on the etiology of the eosinophilia. This, together with the availability of novel targeted therapies, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, has fundamentally altered the approach to the diagnosis and treatment of HES.