Hematology Frontier

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a highly aggressive hematological disease, and its treatment has long been a challenge in the field. Chinese scholars have contributed significantly to global APL treatment with the introduction of the arsenic trioxide (ATO) regimen. Since the publication of the APL0406 study in NEJM in 2013, the combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and ATO has replaced ATRA combined with chemotherapy as the standard treatment for low- and intermediate-risk APL patients. However, whether this regimen is suitable for high-risk APL patients remains undetermined due to a lack of randomized controlled trials. At the 29th Annual Meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA 2024) held from June 13-16, 2024, Dr. Uwe Platzbecker from the Leipzig University in Germany presented key findings from the APOLLO study. This study demonstrated that the combination of ATO and ATRA offers a new treatment strategy for high-risk APL patients, providing valuable insights into the current state of APL treatment and guiding future research directions and clinical practices. Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier invited Professor Platzbecker to share the important discoveries and clinical significance of the APOLLO study.

With the rapid development in the field of hematology, new treatment strategies and breakthrough advancements continue to emerge, offering new hope for patients with hematological malignancies. At the 2024 EHA conference, "Oncology Frontier-Hematology Frontier" had the honor of interviewing Professor Meletios A. Dimopoulos from the School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, delving into the challenges currently faced in the treatment of hematological malignancies, especially for those patients who are refractory to traditional treatments such as lenalidomide and anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody therapy. Professor Dimopoulos' phase 3 DREAMM-8 study data demonstrated the potential and advantages of the B-Pd combination treatment regimen, providing a new option for second-line treatment.

Relapsed/refractory acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (r/r T-ALL/LBL) presents significant treatment challenges with poor prognosis. Data show that the 5-year survival rate is less than 25%, and even with salvage allo-HSCT, the 3-5 year survival rate is only 14-30%. Improving survival for these patients has become a hot research topic. Recently, Professor Xingyu Cao's team at Beijing Lu Daopei Hospital conducted a study using CD7 CAR-T combined with allo-HSCT to treat r/r T-ALL/LBL, achieving notable efficacy and reliable safety. This study was published in the British Journal of Haematology (BJH). Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier interviewed Professor Cao to discuss the treatment of r/r T-ALL/LBL. Here are the details.

The annual meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA) is a premier international conference that gathers experts and scholars from around the globe to share and discuss innovative ideas and advancements in scientific and clinical research in the field of hematology. This year, the research on spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitors has garnered significant attention. HMPL-523 (Solepinib), the first domestically produced SYK inhibitor from China to apply for market approval (*as of the press date), presented multiple research results at the EHA conference. "Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier" invited Dr. Zeping Zhou from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University to interpret the ESLIM-01 study (NCT05029635) on Solepinib for primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), aiming to provide clinical practice references.

Malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (mHLH) is a highly aggressive and fatal disease, with innovative treatment strategies being a major focus and challenge in hematology research. Recently, ELA026—a novel monoclonal antibody targeting signal regulatory proteins (SIRP)-a/b1/g—has shown promising preliminary efficacy in clinical trials for treating mHLH. At the 29th European Hematology Association Annual Meeting (EHA 2024) held from June 13-16, Dr. Swaminathan Iyer from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA and his team reported that ELA026 not only improved the response rate in treatment-naïve mHLH patients but also significantly enhanced their 2-month survival rate. This finding offers new hope for mHLH treatment. Oncology Frontier-Hematology Frontier invited Dr. Swaminathan Iyer to discuss the mechanism and clinical significance of ELA026 in mHLH treatment.

To further enhance the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and lymphoma in China, the 8th Hematology Academic Conference, jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), CSCO Leukemia Expert Committee, and CSCO Lymphoma Expert Committee, and co-hosted by Harbin Institute of Hematology and Oncology and Peking University Cancer Hospital, was held grandly in Harbin from July 26 to 28. The conference aimed to provide a platform for in-depth learning and extensive exchange among experts and scholars in the field of hematological tumors. On this occasion, "Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier" invited Dr. Shuhua Yi from the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences , to discuss topics related to Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) in an in-depth academic exchange.

The European Hematology Association (EHA) annual meeting, an international conference in the field of hematology, gathers numerous experts and scholars from around the world to share and deeply discuss innovative ideas and scientific and clinical research advancements in hematology, promoting continuous development in the field. At this year's conference, the research results on spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitors received significant attention. Sovleplenib (HMPL-523), the first SYK inhibitor from China (as of publication date) to apply for market approval, showcased its potential in treating hematological diseases at this EHA meeting. Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier has invited Dr. Bing Han from Peking Union Medical College Hospital to provide an in-depth interpretation of the research on Sovleplenib in the field of warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), aiming to provide references for clinical practice.

To further enhance the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and lymphoma in China, the 8th Hematology Academic Conference, jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), CSCO Leukemia Expert Committee, and Lymphoma Expert Committee, and co-hosted by Harbin Institute of Hematology and Oncology and Peking University Cancer Hospital, was held grandly in Harbin from July 26 to 28. The conference aimed to provide an important platform for in-depth learning and extensive exchange among experts and scholars in the field of hematological tumors. On this occasion, "Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier" specially invited Dr. He Huang from The First Affiliated Hospital , Zhejiang University School of Medicine to discuss the frontier topic of cellular immunotherapy.

To further enhance the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and lymphoma in China, the 8th Hematology Academic Conference, jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), CSCO Leukemia Expert Committee, and CSCO Lymphoma Expert Committee, and co-hosted by Harbin Institute of Hematology and Oncology and Peking University Cancer Hospital, was grandly held in Harbin from July 26 to 28, 2024. On this occasion, "Oncology Frontier - Hematology Frontier" invited Dr. Erlie Jiang from the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, to discuss the frontier topic of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).