At the 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 6–9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, CGTLive interviewed Janna Minehart, MD, a clinical fellow in hematology-oncology at the University of Pennsylvania and cohost of CGTLive’s ImmunoLogic podcast, about standout presentations and emerging trends.
Minehart, attending ASH in person for the first time after presenting at the virtual 2021 meeting, highlighted two plenary sessions she described as particularly striking. The first compared traditional induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia with azacitidine plus venetoclax and produced results she called “stunning” and potentially practice-changing. Minehart noted she had participated in the care of some patients on that trial as a first-year fellow.
The second plenary compared three regimens for chronic lymphocytic leukemia — continuous ibrutinib; fixed-duration obinutuzumab plus venetoclax; and fixed-duration ibrutinib plus venetoclax — and demonstrated noninferiority among the options. Minehart said the findings are likely to influence practice by prompting clinicians to consider fixed-duration regimens, which patients often prefer, and by weighing toxicity differences such as higher rates of infection and neutropenia seen with venetoclax plus obinutuzumab.
Across other sessions, Minehart observed growing interest in circulating tumor DNA in lymphomas as a prognostic tool and a possible alternative to interim PET/CT scanning. She also noted numerous updates on novel CAR-T constructs and trials in lymphoma.
Minehart pointed to another trend toward CAR products that target multiple antigens, an approach intended to address antigen escape — more commonly reported with CD20 loss than CD19. She also described a presentation on secondary T-cell malignancies after CAR-T therapy that frequently featured a Tet2 mutation; about half of reported CAR-positive T-cell lymphomas have shown Tet2 alterations, a finding that supports a potential role for Tet2 loss in driving these rare post-CAR-T malignancies.
Minehart said the meeting showcased advances likely to shape both clinical practice and ongoing research in hematologic malignancies. The interview has been edited for clarity.
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