EHA2022 to Offer Array of Research on Cancer Treatments, Blood Disorders

The 2022 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress will be the group’s first hybrid meeting, in which investigators will convene both virtually and in Vienna, Austria, from June 9-12, 2022, to present cutting-edge findings in the realm of oncology and hematology.

The congress agenda offers education sessions during which presenters will discuss cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma (MM), B-cell lymphoma, and more. Nononcology topics are also represented, with topics such as iron deficiency, thrombosis, and hemoglobin disorders among the education sessions to choose from.

A particular highlight will be the YoungEHA Sessions, which are targeted to scientists and clinicians earlier in their careers. After the YoungEHA Research Meeting on June 9, attendees can listen to presentations on navigating the changing hematology landscape on June 10 and the ethics of artificial intelligence in hematology on June 11. According to the conference website, these sessions are meant to go beyond “purely scientific talks” by offering a forum for early-stage professionals to discuss how the field is changing, especially with the pressures of the pandemic and the constant advances of new technologies.

Visitors to Vienna will relish the chance to explore the poster hall in person for the first time since 2019, and abstracts to be found here will present the latest findings from clinical trials, including the following:

• ASPEN in Waldenström macroglobulinemia
• ALPINE in relapsed/refractory CLL/small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL)
• ROSEWOOD in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma
• SEQUOIA in treatment-naïve CLL/SLL

As with last year’s virtual meeting, several sessions will touch on advances in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. In addition to readouts of efficacy data, speakers will delve into how to optimize the treatment pathway and help minimize adverse effects for patients.

Despite the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies, the cost and time of creating these bespoke treatments for each patient can be barriers to wider uptake, and one abstract will present proof-of-concept data of an “off-the-shelf” CAR T-cell product using a foamy virus vector instead of the usual lentiviral vector, which the investigators write “could be a safe, efficient, and affordable vehicle” for this type of therapy.

At the Presidential Symposium on June 11, EHA President Elizabeth Macintyre, MD, PhD, will introduce 6 sessions with potentially practice-changing insights on topics ranging from oncogene characterization in childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia to understanding the causes of bone marrow failure.

Finally, the late-breaking oral session on June 12 will allow investigators to present “novel and groundbreaking” data from abstracts that were not submitted by the deadline, according to the conference website. These presentations will include outcomes from the phase 3 GAIA trial in CLL, the phase 3 DETERMINATION trial in MM, and a study of a single-dose treatment for transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease.

After returning home from Vienna, attendees can tune into the virtual-only Q&A sessions, guidelines, and debates grouped into 3 thematic days: chronic lymphoid malignancies and red and white cell disorders on June 15, acute leukemia and thrombosis/hemostasis on June 16, and chronic myeloid malignancies, immunology, and leukemia on June 17.