SEATTLE — Dec. 2, 2025 — Fred Hutch Cancer Center experts will present the latest findings in blood cancer treatments, efforts to improve access to innovative new therapies and the biology driving disease at the 67th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Dec. 6-9 in Orlando, Florida.
Highlights of Fred Hutch presentations at ASH:
- Strategies for using measurable residual disease to guide treatment decisions around the time of transplant in acute leukemia, featured in an education session and Hematology publication.
- Real-world data showing improved efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy (liso-cel) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- ASH will recognize Rainer Storb, MD, with the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, the society's highest honor.
See below for summaries and links to selected Fred Hutch presentations. For interview requests, contact media@fredhutch.org.
You can follow Fred Hutch #ASH25 updates on social media (X and Bluesky) and visit Fred Hutch booth #1879 in the exhibit hall.
Acute leukemia
Peri-transplant Conundrums: Optimizing Maintenance Therapy Using MRD-Directed Approaches
OCCC - Tangerine Ballroom F3-4
Saturday, Dec. 6, 4-4:20 p.m. EST
Biological assays that detect very low levels of abnormal cells, known as measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, show that having MRD around the time of a stem cell transplant is linked to a higher chance of the cancer coming back. In an education session and related paper to be published in the journal Hematology, Mary-Beth Percival, MD, will discuss using MRD tests to guide treatment approaches around the time of transplant. Percival is a hematologist-oncologist at Fred Hutch.
Pivekimab sunirinine (PVEK) combined with FLAG-IDA for medically fit adults with untreated adverse-risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia (A.M.L) or other high-grade myeloid neoplasms (NCT06034470)
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Sunday, Dec. 7, 6-8 p.m. EST
There is a need for more effective therapies for adults with adverse-risk acute myeloid leukemia, which is at higher risk of relapse due to genetic and molecular characteristics of the leukemia cells. In a poster session, Jacob Appelbaum, MD, PhD, will present Phase I results evaluating the safety and efficacy of combining an intensified chemotherapy backbone with a CD123-targeted therapeutic. Of the 18 patients in the analysis, most patients (83%) had their leukemia go away or nearly go away, and about 61% had no signs of cancer according to tests of measurable residual disease. The team estimates that about 73% of patients will still be alive after one year. Appelbaum is an expert in leukemia and a Fred Hutch physician.
Multiple myeloma
Real-world outcomes with elranatamab in multiple myeloma: A multi-center analysis from the United States multiple myeloma immunotherapy consortium
OCCC - West Hall E2
Saturday, Dec. 6, 10:15-10:30 a.m. EST
Andrew Portuguese, MD, will present an oral abstract detailing the largest real-world analysis of elranatamab, a targeted immunotherapy for relapsed multiple myeloma. The analysis evaluated 130 patients who were more frail and more heavily pre-treated than those participating in the pivotal MagnetisMM-3 trial. Elranatamab achieved a 65% response rate, demonstrating preserved clinical activity in everyday practice. However, media progression-free survival in the real-world cohort was 4.3 months, notably shorter than the 17.2 months reported in MagnetisMM-3. Portuguese is a multiple myeloma expert at Fred Hutch.
Identifying candidates for outpatient administration of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Cilta-cel) in relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM)
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Sunday, Dec. 7, 6-8 P.M. EST
Drawing from a multi-institutional cohort of patients with relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma who were treated with cilta-cel, a type of CAR T-cell therapy, Danai Dima, MD, will report on clinical factors associated with lower risk for early severe toxicities in a poster session. These findings are useful in guiding CAR T management strategies in the outpatient setting. Dima is a Fred Hutch hematologist-oncologist and specializes in multiple myeloma.
CAR T-cell therapy
Superior real-world outcomes of lisocabtagene maraleucel in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
OCCC - W224ABEF
Monday, Dec. 8, 11:45 a.m.-noon EST
Jennifer Huang, MD, PhD, will present an oral abstract describing real-world safety and efficacy outcomes for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients who were treated with lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), a type of CAR T-cell therapy. The presentation shows improved rates of complete response and overall response compared with the clinical trial that led to the approval of liso-cel for CLL. Huang is a Hem-Onc fellow at Fred Hutch and an incoming faculty member in the bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy group at Fred Hutch.
High-dose anakinra to treat refractory immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome in CAR T-cell therapy recipients
OCCC - Sunburst Room (W340)
Monday, Dec. 8, 3:30-3:45 p.m. EST
In an oral abstract, Emily Liang, MD, will share findings from the largest study of CAR T-cell therapy recipients who were also treated with anakinra, a drug that blocks inflammation. The study examined whether the drug could treat neurotoxicity, which is a side effect of CAR-T and can affect up to 70% of patients receiving CAR-T. The study found that the drug helped many patients improve quickly and identified possible warning signs for when anakinra might not work. Liang is an incoming assistant professor in the bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy group at Fred Hutch, where she is currently a Hem-Onc fellow.
CAR T cell therapy referral patterns and characteristics of patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) in the United States
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Monday, Dec. 8, 6-8 p.m. EST
Researchers continue to uncover why many patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma do not receive CAR T-cell therapy despite its curative potential. Mazyar Shadman, MD, MPH, will present a poster of a national real-world analysis using U.S. claims data from nearly 9,000 patients across multiple lines of therapy. The study found that two-thirds of patients received care at centers that do not offer CAR T, and only about one-third of these patients were ever referred to a CAR T site. Ultimately, just 15% of eligible patients received CAR T-cell therapy, with limited referral emerging as a major barrier. The findings highlight the need to strengthen referral pathways and broaden CAR T site access. Shadman is Fred Hutch’s medical director of cellular immunotherapy and holds the Innovators Network Endowed Chair.
Evaluation of CAR-T access barriers in Washington and Alaska: A single-center experience prior to implementing program capacity expansion
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Monday, Dec. 8, 6-8 p.m. EST
Fred Hutch serves as the primary CAR T site for patients in Alaska and Washington states. In a poster session, Melinda Biernacki, MD, examined clinical and nonclinical barriers to accessing CAR T at Fred Hutch in a historical cohort of patients (2016-2024). Fred Hutch expanded its clinic capacity in mid-2024 to reduce referral wait times and enable patients to receive CAR T earlier in their disease. Next, researchers will work with patients and communities to address nonclinical barriers to accessing CAR T therapy in this region. Biernacki is a physician at Fred Hutch.
Barriers and increasing access to cancer care
Adverse financial events and delayed treatment initiation among patients with hematologic malignancies
OCCC – W224ABEF
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2:45-3 p.m. EST
Christopher Su, MD, MPH, will present an oral abstract indicating that in insured patients with hematologic cancers, financial hardship at diagnosis may be a barrier to high-quality care. Nearly a quarter of all patients had significant financial hardship at diagnosis and may benefit from targeted financial navigation. Su is a hematologist-oncologist and an affiliate investigator with Fred Hutch’s health care economics and policy research group, HICOR (Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research).
Next generation sequencing from dried blood spots: “Spot on CML” results from low- and middle-income countries
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Monday, Dec. 8, 6-8 p.m. EST
Vivian Oehler, MD, will present a poster of a study showing how the Spot on CML test used dried blood samples to help identify tumor mutations in chronic myeloid leukemia patients in low- and middle-income countries. While the standard of care for treatment-resistant CML is to select therapy based on presence of certain mutations, CML patients in low- and middle-income countries often have limited or no access to diagnostic tools for CML management. This test presents a practical approach to manage CML in regions with limited or no resources. Oehler is a hematologist-oncologist at Fred Hutch.
Climate change and caring for blood cancer patients
Association between extreme heat exposures and survival in patients with multiple myeloma
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Saturday, Dec. 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. EST
Specific environmental factors are associated with increased rates of invasive mucormycosis infections in patients with acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome
OCCC - West Halls B3-B4
Sunday, Dec. 7, 6-8 p.m. EST
While climate change is known to impact human health in the general population, the effects of extreme heat, wildfire smoke and other environmental disruptions are understudied in people with cancer.
Thomas Kuczmarski, MD, an affiliate investigator and previously a Hematology/Oncology fellow at Fred Hutch, explored the increasing influence climate change may have on caring for patients with blood cancers. In a poster he will show a link between heat exposure and survival among multiple myeloma patients.
In another poster Kuczmarski will explain a study of whether invasive fungal infection with mucormycosis increased under certain environmental factors in people with acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
ASH lifetime achievement award
Announcement of Awards: Outstanding Service Award, ASH Mentor Awards, ASH Advancing Inclusive Excellence Award, and the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement
OCCC - West Hall D2
Sunday, Dec. 7, 1:30-2 p.m. EST
ASH will recognize Rainer Storb, MD, with the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, the society's highest honor. Storb is one of the key leaders who established allogeneic, or donor, blood stem cell transplantation as a cure for diseases like leukemia and aplastic anemia. Storb retired from Fred Hutch this year at age 90, after 60 years of making lifesaving discoveries.
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Note: To the extent any commercializable discoveries result from the aforementioned research, Fred Hutch and the scientists who contributed to the discoveries may stand to benefit from their future commercialization.
The clinical trials referenced above involve investigational products and/or therapies that have not been approved for commercial marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory authority. Results may vary and encouraging results from early-stage clinical trials may not be supported in later-stage clinical trials. No conclusions should be drawn from the information in this Tip Sheet or from the conference presentations about the safety, efficacy or likelihood of regulatory approval of these investigational products and/or therapies.
Fred Hutch does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any content of any third party sites, materials or related information that may be referenced by the presentations.
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Media Contact:
media@fredhutch.org
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Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Fred Hutch Cancer Center unites individualized care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options while accelerating discoveries that prevent, treat and cure cancer and infectious diseases worldwide.
Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington. We have earned a global reputation for our track record of discoveries in cancer, infectious disease and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services. Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.