CONGRESS NEWS

Highlights from EBMT 2025

SUMMARY

At the 2025 annual meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), several impactful studies were presented that have important implications for transplant-eligible and post-transplant patient populations. Topics of this article include the prognostic value of early cytomegalovirus clearance, novel therapy for Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, the efficacy of post-transplant cyclophosphamide across donor types in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and updates on multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome, and sickle cell disease.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2025;16(4):181–5)

BSTH 2024 Abstracts

BELGIAN SOCIETY ON THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS ANNUAL MEETING
28-29 NOVEMBER 2024
LAMOT, MECHELEN
www.bsth2024.org

(BELG J HEMATOL 2025;16(2):82-105)

Haematological highlights from ESMO 2024

SUMMARY

At ESMO 2024, there were several sessions dedicated to haematological malignancies as well as CAR-T-cells and bispecifics in various haematological disorders. Here, the highlights of these talks are outlined.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2024;15(7):298–301)

Haematological highlights from ESMO 2023

SUMMARY

Once more, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) dedicated a session to haematological malignancies during its last meeting in October 2023. This session revealed novel immunotherapeutic strategies, such as activating γ9δ2 T cells to treat haematological cancers and using trifunctional natural killer (NK) cell engagers to eliminate CD123+ tumour cells. Additionally, promising results were observed with the combination of toripalimab and radiotherapy in treating extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma. Furthermore, genetic analyses identified genetic alterations with prognostic value for anti-PD-1 therapy in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL). Finally, a large cohort study examined treatment outcomes in primary ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma (POAML) patients.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2024;15(2):62–5)

BSTH 2023 Abstracts

(BELG J HEMATOL 2024;15(2):66–89)

Highlights from the 20^th iwCLL

SUMMARY

The 20^th edition of the international workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (iwCLL) in Boston showcased significant progress in the management of CLL. In this summary we highlight key findings and emerging insights from the conference.

• Supportive care: infection still represent a significant threat for CLL patients, focusing on prevention remains crucial. Major role for vaccination and immunoglobulins replacement.
• First line treatment: advances in first line CLL treatment have expanded options beyond chemoimmunotherapy. Continuous treatment with covalent BTK inhibitors (cBTKi) as well as fixed-duration treatment such as Obinutuzumab-Venetoclax are effective options for fit and unfit patients.
• Minimal residual disease (MRD): MRD is a strong predictor of prolonged PFS and OS in CLL. However, the relevance of MRD kinetic and its connection to treatment response varies according to the scheme. New techniques considering also the nodal compartment are needed.
• Relapse and emerging therapies: resistance mechanisms and emerging drugs to address double-refractory CLL patients have been explored. New BCL-2 inhibitors, non-covalent BTK inhibitors (ncBTKi) and BTK degraders are the most promising agents. CAR-T cell therapy and bispecific antibodies (BiTEs) also show an interesting preliminary activity in this setting.
• Richter transformation (RT): RT is associated to a wide genetic heterogeneity and poor outcome. New treatments and particularly CAR-T and BiTEs seem promising in this setting.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(8):347–50)

Highlights from the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML)

SUMMARY

The 17^th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) was held in Lugano, Switzerland from 13–17^th June, 2023. Once more, the program addressed the state-of-the-art on the biology, pathology and management of lymphoid neoplasms through a broad plethora of general sessions, ‘Focus-on’ and educational sessions. Below, we summarise some of the key sessions in the field of aggressive lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and follicular lymphoma.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(7):308–12)