American Society of Hematology, Dec. 6 to 9

The annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology was held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida, and attracted participants from around the world, including hematology specialists as well as clinical practitioners and other health care professionals. The conference featured presentations focusing on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems.In the phase 3 GIMEMA ALL2820 trial, Sabina Chiaretti, M.D., Ph.D., of Sapienza University in Rome, and colleagues found a chemo-free targeted/immunotherapy-based approach to be significantly beneficial for patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and found that it outperformed a tyrosine kinase inhibitor/chemotherapy-based backbone.The authors conducted a randomized trial (2:1 ratio in favor of the chemo-free arm) designed for newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL patients (older than 18 years; no upper age limit), in which the chemo-free arm was based on induction with ponatinib (45 or 30 mg daily, depending on age) followed by at least two cycles of intravenous blinatumomab (maximum, five cycles). The control arm was based on the administration of imatinib and chemotherapy (again, dose adjusted according to age). A crossover was allowed from the control to the experimental arm in the case of molecular residual disease persistence or development of ABL1 mutations.The researchers observed a significant advantage of the experimental arm over the control arm, with hematologic responses at the end of induction being 94.3 and 79.4 percent, respectively, while death was 2.5 and 10.2 percent, respectively, and off-treatment was 2.8 and 8.9 percent, respectively. In line with the findings, molecular responses after consolidation (two cycles of blinatumomab/four to six cycles of chemotherapy) were significantly better in the experimental arm (70.9 versus 48.7 percent); relapses occurred slightly less frequently in the experimental arm (6 versus 8 percent). Treatment was well tolerated overall. Event-free survival was 90 and 74 percent and overall survival was 94 and 77 percent in the experimental and control arms, respectively. Notably, patients undergoing crossover had an overall survival of 97 percent."These findings should be regarded as clinical practice-changing. Nonetheless, most countries do not have access to blinatumomab in the first-line setting," Chiaretti said. "Thus, there is a strong wish that these results will lead to blinatumomab approval, not only for patients enrolled in the clinical trials, but for all patients."Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Amgen (blinatumomab) and Takeda (ponatinib).Abstract No. 439In the phase 3 VAYHIT2 study, Hanny Al-Samkari, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues found that a monoclonal antibody that inhibits the B-cell activating factor receptor ianalumab improves outcomes among patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) previously treated with corticosteroids.The investigators randomly assigned (1:1:1) 152 patients with primary ITP to receive eltrombopag plus either ianalumab 9 mg/kg or 3 mg/kg or placebo. The primary end point was time to treatment failure (TTF), and the key secondary end point was stable response at six months (SR6).The researchers found that TTF was significantly longer with ianalumab 9 mg/kg and ianalumab 3 mg/kg when compared with placebo. Significantly more patients achieved SR6 with ianalumab 9 mg/kg compared with placebo. Furthermore, response and complete response rates were significantly higher with ianalumab 9 mg/kg."Ianalumab in combination with eltrombopag prolonged TTF, improved SR6, reduced fatigue, facilitated tapering off eltrombopag, and delayed need for subsequent therapy in patients with primary ITP previously treated with corticosteroids," the authors write. "Ianalumab was well tolerated, with no observed increase in infection risk relative to placebo. Ianalumab may be disease-modifying when used early in the course of ITP."Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Novartis, the manufacturer of ianalumab.Abstract No. LBA-2In a phase 3 study, Wojciech Jurczak, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Research Institute of Oncology in Krakow, Poland, and colleagues found that the noncovalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor pirtobrutinib improves outcomes among patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).The authors assessed the efficacy and safety of pirtobrutinib compared with bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) in patients with CLL/SLL who had not undergone treatment. For the study, 282 patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either pirtobrutinib monotherapy or six cycles of BR.The researchers found that independent review committee progression-free survival (the primary end point) was significantly improved with pirtobrutinib compared with BR. Pirtobrutinib was found to be well tolerated. Specifically, the investigators identified only low discontinuation rates and the presence of atrial fibrillation/flutter."While overall survival data remained immature, a notable trend favoring pirtobrutinib was observed, despite 52.9 percent of BR patients crossing over to receive pirtobrutinib after disease progression," the authors write. "Taken together, these data suggest that pirtobrutinib may be considered a potential new standard-of-care treatment for patients with untreated CLL/SLL, including older patients who may receive only one line of therapy."Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of pirtobrutinib.Abstract No. LBA-3ASH: Financial Difficulties Common During Pediatric Leukemia TreatmentMONDAY, Dec. 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly one-third of families of children receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia develop serious financial difficulties during their child's treatment, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Iron Overload Prevalent in Sickle Cell DiseaseWEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Iron overload is prevalent among adults with sickle cell disease, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Late Effects Uncommon for Patients With Sickle Cell Disease After Allogeneic HCTWEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Late effects are rare for patients with sickle cell disease undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Sustained Benefit Seen for Etranacogene Dezaparvovec in Hemophilia BWEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For men with hemophilia B, receipt of gene therapy comprising an infusion of etranacogene dezaparvovec results in sustained endogenous factor IX expression and low annualized bleeding rates over five years, according to a study published online Dec. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Free Full TextASH: Agent Orange Exposure Linked to Increased Risk for Myelodysplastic SyndromeTUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Agent orange exposure is associated with an increased risk for myelodysplastic syndrome, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Lifestyle Intervention Feasible During Chemo for LymphomaTUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- A lifestyle intervention is feasible for patients with lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Few Sickle Cell ED Visits Adhere to Guidelines for Opioid Pain MedsTUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with acute sickle cell disease pain presenting to the emergency department, guideline adherence for delivery of opioid pain medications is inadequate, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: No Specific Harms Found for Hydroxyurea Use During PregnancyTUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- There is no clear evidence of harm for women receiving hydroxyurea during pregnancy for sickle cell disease, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full TextASH: Guidelines Updated for Management of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Older AdultsMONDAY, Dec. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- In updated 2025 American Society of Hematology guidelines, recommendations are presented for the management of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in older adults; the guidelines were published online Nov. 25 in Blood Advances to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 6 to 9 in Orlando, Florida.Read Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

American Society of Hematology, Dec. 6 to 9

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