From December 6–9, 2025, the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting was held in Orlando. As the world’s most influential and comprehensive academic event in hematology, ASH annually gathers tens of thousands of experts to present breakthroughs spanning basic research to clinical innovation. This year, the team led by Professor Jia Wei of Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, had seven studies accepted—one oral presentation and six posters—covering CAR-T therapy, multi-omics analysis and immunotherapy. These studies collectively illustrate a full-spectrum innovation pipeline from mechanistic discovery to translational clinical application. Hematology Frontier summarizes the key findings below and presents Professor Wei’s commentary on their broader significance. Publication Number: 253
Title: Combined biparatopic nanobody-based B cell maturation antigen chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy and pomalidomide for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: In-vitro characterisation and phase 1 dose-escalation study First Author: Jie Zhao Type: Oral Presentation
Study Conclusions In vitro testing confirmed that the biparatopic BCMA CAR-T design enhances potency, while pomalidomide promotes memory differentiation. In heavily pretreated RRMM patients, the combination was well tolerated. The MTD/RP2D was defined as 1×10⁶ CAR-T/kg with pomalidomide maintenance. High response depth and MRD-negative complete responses support progression to a phase II study.
Commentary by Professor Jia Wei This dual-epitope BCMA nanobody CAR-T combined with pomalidomide demonstrates clear therapeutic potential in RRMM. Phase I data show good safety at 1×10⁶ cells/kg and meaningful efficacy even in patients with extramedullary disease, suggesting a degree of resistance-overcoming ability. The study provides mechanistic rationale and clinical evidence to advance into phase II trials and represents an important step forward for cellular immunotherapy in myeloma.
Publication Number: 1639
Title: Efficacy and safety of allogeneic CD123 CAR-NK cell therapy in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia First Author: Wei Mu
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions CD123 CAR-NK cell therapy demonstrated clinical activity in heavily treated AML patients. However, unexpected CAR-NK hyperproliferation in vivo suggests potential safety risks requiring mechanistic clarification and close clinical monitoring.
Commentary by Professor Jia Wei This study reinforces the strong therapeutic relevance of CD123 in AML and highlights the promise of CAR-NK as an “off-the-shelf” cell product with low GVHD risk. For patients with poor physical condition or limited time, CAR-NK offers practical advantages. The observed over-expansion points to both potent biological activity and the importance of incorporating safety switches and dynamic monitoring. Future engineering advances and rational drug combinations may enable CAR-NK to complement CAR-T and expand options for high-risk hematologic malignancies.
Publication Number: 1693
Title: Multi-omics unveils ER stress-driven pDC-like leukemia stem cells in pDC-AML First Author: Xingcheng Yang
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions This work provides the first multi-omics atlas of pDC-AML, establishing it as a distinct AML subtype with unique clinical behavior, protein expression and transcriptional features. The identification of pDC-like LSC clusters, ER stress pathway activation and T/B-cell dysfunction reveals key pathogenic mechanisms and offers new targets for precision therapy.
Publication Number: 1939
Title: CRE intestinal colonization correlates with increased progression risk following CAR-T cell therapy in relapsed/refractory lymphoma
First Author: Qing Yin
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions Intestinal colonization with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) increases infection and mortality risk in lymphoma patients receiving CAR-T therapy and independently predicts disease progression.
Publication Number: 1985
Title: T cell-derived TNF-α mediates myelofibrosis via JAK2/STAT3-ADAM17 axis in JAK2V617F⁺ myeloproliferative neoplasms
First Author: Zhuming Yang
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions JAK2V617F-mediated STAT3 activation induces ADAM17 overexpression, which cleaves T-cell surface tmTNF-α and increases soluble TNF-α release. This JAK2/STAT3-ADAM17-TNF-α pathway promotes chronic inflammation and fibrosis in MPNs. Targeting ADAM17 may represent a new strategy to reduce fibrosis and inflammatory burden.
Publication Number: 2325
Title: Enhanced efficacy and safety of optimized tandem CD19/CD20 CAR T-cell therapy in refractory/relapsed B-cell lymphoma
First Author: Jiaqi Guo
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions Incorporation of a protease-cleavable site (AS) significantly improved the function and anti-exhaustion profile of a tandem CD19/CD20 CAR-T (CAR2019[AS]). The therapy achieved robust efficacy and durable survival in r/r B-cell lymphoma, offering a strong dual-targeting strategy to overcome limitations of CD19-only CAR-T.
Publication Number: 5986
Title: The efficacy and safety of using low-dose cyclophosphamide, fludarabine and thymoglobulin in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for transfusion-dependent non-severe aplastic anemia: a retrospective study
First Author: Tao Wang
Type: Poster
Study Conclusions Low-dose cyclophosphamide did not cause fatal cardiac or hepatic toxicity and did not impair engraftment. The data support the safety and efficacy of a conditioning regimen using low-dose cyclophosphamide (100–120 mg/kg) with fludarabine and ATG for allo-HSCT in transfusion-dependent non-severe aplastic anemia.
Expert Profile
Jia Wei, MD, PhD
Professor and Chief Physician, Doctoral Supervisor Director, Department of Hematology, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Deputy Chair, Department of Internal Medicine Distinguished Professor, Huazhong Outstanding Scholars Program Deputy Director, National Medical Center (in preparation) Innovation Institute Recipient of China’s National “Ten Thousand Talents Program” (Young Top Talent) National Health System Outstanding Contributor Committee Member, Chinese Society of Hematology (Lymphocyte Diseases Group, Youth Group) Standing Committee Member, CACA Hematologic Oncology Committee Editorial Director, Journal of Critical and Emergency Internal Medicine; Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Plus
Professor Wei specializes in HSCT and CAR-T therapy for hematologic malignancies and has served as PI for multiple CAR-T clinical programs. He has led numerous national and provincial research grants and has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including Blood, STTT, AJH, JACI, JITC, among others.
