Unraveling Key Blood Cancer Takeaways From the 2025 SOHO Meeting

At the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2025 Annual Meeting, CancerNetwork^® spoke with a variety of experts about notable clinical developments and trial results across the hematologic oncology landscape. Throughout the meeting, clinicians and researchers discussed the latest data and initiatives in myelofibrosis, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and other types of blood cancer.

Francesca Palandri, MD, PhD, an adjunct professor in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy, shared insights from a session focused on exploring predictive markers for the efficacy of ruxolitinib (Jakafi) among patients with myelofibrosis.¹ Noting variance in response rates as well as possibilities of disease progression or treatment discontinuation associated with ruxolitinib, Palandri emphasized the importance of assessing predictors of response to better orient clinical decision-making strategies regarding the agent’s use. She also highlighted how factors such as cytopenic phenotype, higher peripheral blast counts, and higher burden of disease may impact response rates and survival among patients.

Additionally, Sundar Jagannath, MD, a professor of Medicine specializing in hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Tisch Cancer Institute, spoke about his presentation on potentially defining a cure in the management of multiple myeloma.² He described the importance of “chang[ing] the dialogue” in multiple myeloma to give hope to patients and encourage physicians to engage in patient care more optimally. By defining a cure in multiple myeloma, Jagannath stated, it may be possible to offer more finite durations of treatment and stop therapy with the confidence that patients will not relapse.

Finally, Adam J. Olszewski, MD, an associate professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, discussed his work on the phase 3 SUNMO trial (NCT05171647).³ Findings from this presentation showed that mosunetuzumab-axgb (Lunsumio) plus polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy; M-Pola) reduced the risk of progression or death by 59% vs rituximab (Rituxan) with gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (R-GemOx) in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Olszewski also outlined next steps for refining treatment strategies in this patient population.

References

1. Palandri F. Predictive markers for ruxolitinib in MF. Presented at the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2025 Annual Meeting; September 3-6, 2025; Houston, TX.
2. Jagannath S. Is it time to say “CURE” in multiple myeloma? Presented at the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2025 Annual Meeting; September 3-6, 2025; Houston, TX.
3. Westin J, Zhang H, Kim W, et al. Mosunetuzumab plus polatuzumab vedotin is superior R-GemOx in transplant-ineligible patients with R/R LBCL: primary results of the phase III SUNMO trial. Presented at the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2025 Annual Meeting; September 3-6, 2025; Houston, TX. Abstract ABCL-1492.