Start from the basics and build your knowledge on mast cell disease. Each section goes a little deeper, with The Itch Podcast as your guide.
20 episodes · Patients, families & clinicians
Mast cell disease
Learn about mast cell disease in 6 MODULES
MODULE 1
The basics: what is mast cell disease?
New to mast cell disease? These episodes cover the basic science of mast cells, what happens when they malfunction, and the key differences between mastocytosis, MCAS, and hereditary alpha-tryptasemia.
Start here!
Ep. 63
Mast Cell Diseases & Systemic Mastocytosis: The Basic Science
An introduction to mast cells and the role they play in the immune system. What happens when they misfire, the differences between mastocytosis, MCAS, and hereditary alpha-tryptasemia, and how genetic mutations like KIT can trigger disease.
Ep. 65
The Symptoms and Triggers of Mast Cell Disease
Why mast cell disease can affect multiple organ systems, from skin and gut to heart and brain, and how both environmental and emotional factors can trigger flares.
MODULE 2
Living with mast cell disease
Mast cell disease is unpredictable and often invisible to others. These episodes explore what daily life actually looks like, from managing flares and navigating mental health to the truth about popular strategies like low-histamine diets.
Ep. 70
How Do Low-Histamine Diets and Stress Impact Mast Cell Disease?
Why a low-histamine diet may not help mast cell disease unless you're cutting your own specific triggers, and why stress control plays a crucial role in stabilizing symptoms.
Ep. 71
Living with Systemic Mastocytosis: Patient Story
Tammie shares how navigating systemic mastocytosis calls for perseverance, strong therapeutic relationships, mental health care, and the careful balance of digital and in-person support.
MODULE 3
Diagnosing mast cell disease
Diagnosing mast cell disease is complex; it often begins with an episode of unexplained anaphylaxis and requires a careful mix of blood tests, urine tests, and sometimes a bone marrow biopsy. These episodes walk through the process step by step.
Ep. 67
How to Diagnose Mast Cell Disease
The step-by-step diagnostic journey — from confirming true anaphylaxis to timing tryptase blood tests, leveraging urine metabolite tests, and when skin or bone marrow findings are needed.
Full episode only audio
Ep. 138
KIT D816V in Anaphylaxis: What the PROSPECTOR Trial Reveals
How the KIT D816V mutation impacts mast cell behavior and anaphylaxis risk, and how emerging research from the PROSPECTOR trial is reshaping how we understand these reactions.
MODULE 4
Treating & managing mast cell diseases
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to mast cell disease treatment. These episodes cover the step-up strategy from H1/H2 antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers to biologics and targeted therapies like avapritinib. Plus, learn what the latest research says about managing both MCAS and systemic mastocytosis.
Ep. 69
How Are Mast Cell Diseases Treated?
Why there's no single treatment plan for mast cell disease — and how the "try-and-see" method, from H1/H2 blockers to Xolair and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, helps personalize care.
Dive deeper!
The Itch Review: What the latest research has to say about mast cell disease
The Itch Review is our journal club series. Dr. Gupta, Kortney, and Dr. Blaiss break down the latest research into clear, actionable insights. Learn about the latest research on mast cell disease.
Ep. 118
Do Indolent Systemic Mastocytosis Patients & Providers Agree on Symptom Control?
A study revealing the gap between how patients and providers perceive symptom control in indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) and why bridging that perception gap matters for care.
Ep. 126
Management of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: A Clinical Yardstick
What MCAS is, how to spot it across organ systems, and how to apply the 2025 ACAAI clinical yardstick to guide diagnosis and management.
Ep. 127
Management of Indolent Mastocytosis: A Clinical Yardstick
How to diagnose and treat indolent systemic mastocytosis — from baseline serum tryptase and KIT D816V testing to when to consider avapritinib — and what this means for quality of life.
Ep. 121
Avapritinib versus Placebo in Indolent Systemic Mastocytosis: PIONEER Trial
How avapritinib performed in the PIONEER trial, including how it targets the KIT D816V mutation, key outcomes on symptom scores, and what it could mean for the ISM treatment landscape.
MODULE 5
Advanced disease: systemic mastocytosis (SM)
For patients with more aggressive forms of systemic mastocytosis, early detection and specialist involvement are critical. These episodes explore advanced SM, what it is, how it progresses, and the emerging treatments changing the landscape.
Ep. 72
Mast Cell Disease, the Hematologist & New Treatments on the Horizon
Hematologist-oncologist Dr. Douglas Tremblay on how bone marrow biopsies and KIT mutation insights guide diagnosis and emerging treatments for systemic mastocytosis.
Ep. 73
What to Know About Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis
Dr. Kremyanskaya breaks down how advanced systemic mastocytosis, with or without hematologic malignancy (non-cancerous) evolves and affects organs, and why early detection matters.
MODULE 6
Comorbidities: hives anaphylaxis, & insect allergy
Mast cell disease rarely travels alone. Hives are a hallmark symptom of systemic mastocytosis, venom allergy is closely linked to SM, and anaphylaxis is a reality many mast cell patients live with daily. These episodes cover each of these overlapping conditions.
Ep. 128
Is Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria an Autoimmune Disease?
Hives are a hallmark symptom of systemic mastocytosis. This episode explores the autoimmune mechanisms behind CSU, including how mast cells drive hives from within, which is especially relevant for SM patients.
Ep. 59
What Is Anaphylaxis, and When to Use Epinephrine?
How to recognize anaphylaxis, when to use your epinephrine device, and what happens if you wait — essential knowledge for anyone living with mast cell disease.
Ep. 62
Why Is Anxiety Around Anaphylaxis So Common?
The delicate balance between fear and preparedness, how to stay ready to use epinephrine without letting anxiety around anaphylaxis take over daily life.
Ep. 55
What Is a Venom Allergy?
The connection between venom allergy and systemic mastocytosis, why allergists test for SM after a serious insect sting reaction, and how immunotherapy fits into the picture.