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Hematologic Oncology Treatment Center

American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting

  • December 1–4, 2018
    San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA

    Dana-Farber at ASH 2018

    As leaders in blood and blood cancer research, physicians and scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute participated in many ways at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

    Attendees learned the latest about our adult and pediatric clinical programs, discoveries, innovations, and clinical trials.

    Follow along on Twitter: #ASH18


    Dana-Farber Highlights at ASH 2018

  • CAR T-Cell Therapy Updates from ASH 2018
    Caron Jacobson, MD, medical director of the immune effector cell therapy program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, highlights key CAR T-cell study results from the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting. Studies presented include longer-term follow-up of CAR T in non-Hodgkin lymphoma; data of CAR T in the real-world vs. clinical trial setting; combination therapy with CAR T; and allogeneic CAR T.

  • Updates on CAR T for Myeloma
    Nikhil Munshi, MD, director of basic and correlative science in the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber, explains the excitement for CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma patients. Early results show significant effectiveness and moderate side effects with this therapy, although efforts are underway to improve its effectiveness for longer periods of time.

  • Updates in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia from ASH 2018
    Matthew Davids, MD, MMSc, associate director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Center at Dana-Farber, shares exciting advances in CLL treatment from the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting. Highlights include practice-changing studies using ibrutinib in the frontline setting, as well as opportunities to combine venetoclax with other treatments.

  • Exploring early treatment intervention for high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients
    Mark Bustoros, MD, shares results of the phase 2 study treating patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma with ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone. Results of this study were presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting and offer an early intervention option for patients with high risk smoldering multiple myeloma.

  • Risk factors that influence disease progression for asymptomatic Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia patients
    Mark Bustoros, MD, explains the analysis of asymptomatic Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia patients that helped identify the risk factors that contribute to disease progression. The analysis helped establish a risk-based stratification system that may help guide clinical care for these patients. The analysis was presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

  • Updates in adult leukemia treatment
    Daniel DeAngelo, MD, PhD, recaps key highlights in adult leukemia treatment from the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, including combination treatment with venetoclax as well as treatment using FLT3 and IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors.

  • Targeted agent uproleselan shown to be effective for acute myeloid leukemia
    Daniel DeAngelo, MD, PhD, recaps his presentation of uproleselan for patients with acute myeloid leukemia from the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting. Uproleselan is a targeted agent that blocks e-selectin, which enables leukemia cells to resist chemotherapy.

  • Improving outcomes for myeloid cancers
    R. Coleman Lindsley, MD, PhD, explains several studies aimed at improving outcomes for myeloid cancer patients who undergo stem cell transplantation; these studies were presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

  • Immune response may predict progression
    Irene Ghobrial, MD, explains findings of studies looking at gene-level changes that may cause precursor conditions such as MGUS or smoldering multiple myeloma to progress to multiple myeloma.

  • New Findings from Dana-Farber Researchers, Presented at ASH 2018

    Many Dana-Farber investigators are presenting new research findings and advances at ASH 2018, including:

    Five presentations of research on myeloma progression from precursor conditions and novel approaches to treatment:

    • Immune response may predict risk of progression to myeloma in patients with precursor conditions
    • Three-drug combination produces broad response in patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma
    • Study identifies ID2-related pathways as potential drug targets in multiple myeloma
    • Researchers launch screening study of individuals at high risk of multiple myeloma
    • Researchers devise risk-based classification system for patients with smoldering Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

    Two presentations of new research on improving outcomes in stem cell transplantation for myeloid cancers:

    Three presentations, including one that compared outcomes of CAR T-cell therapy in patients in clinical trials with outcomes in the "real world" of clinical practice:

    Dana-Farber Faculty Oral Presentation Schedules for ASH 2018

    Presentations on Saturday, December 1, 2018
    Presentations on Sunday, December 2, 2018
    Presentations on Monday, December 3, 2018

    Dana-Farber Highlights at ASH 2017

  • Irene Ghobrial, MD, on Identifying High Risk in Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
    Irene Ghobrial, MD, discusses her team’s genomic analysis of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), a precursor to full-blown blood cancer. The study helped identify which patients with SMM are at high risk of progressing to overt myeloma.

  • Caron Jacobson, MD, on CAR T-cell Therapy Data
    Dana-Farber’s Caron Jacobson, MD, provides an update on the promising, long-term data presented at the ASH 2017 Annual Meeting on CAR T-cell therapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

  • Matthew Davids, MD, MMSc, on Advances in CLL Treatment
    Matthew Davids, MD, MMSc, of Dana-Farber’s Center for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, shares updates at ASH on advances in treating newly-diagnosed and relapsed CLL. New approaches include ibrutinib + FCR for younger, newly-diagnosed patients and a combination of rituximab and venetoclax for relapsed patients.

  • Andrew Lane, MD, PhD, Shares Updates at ASH 2017 on Treating BPDCN
    Dr. Lane recaps the promising results presented at the ASH 2017 Annual Meeting from a phase 2 trial of SL-401 for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), as well as results from his lab exploring why some patients respond to SL-401 and others do not.

  • ASH President and Dana-Farber's Ken Anderson, MD, Highlights Key Topics for 2017 ASH Annual Meeting

    Targeted therapies and immunotherapy were among the highlights as oncology experts gathered at this year's ASH Annual Meeting. In a far-reaching Q & A, Dr. Anderson previewed exciting presentations of CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial results for lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and a novel targeted therapy for the treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis.

    Read the full Q & A interview with ASH President Ken Anderson, MD.

    Awards and Honors

    • Congratulations to Benjamin Ebert, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber's Chair of Medical Oncology, who received the William Dameshek Prize, awarded to an individual no more than 50 years of age (at time of nomination) who has made outstanding contributions in hematology.
    • Thank you to Kenneth Anderson, MD, Program Director of Dana-Farber's Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, for serving as ASH President in 2017.

    Follow the conversation on Twitter #ASH17
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    View the schedule of presentations by Dana-Farber faculty.

    New Findings from Dana-Farber Researchers, Presented at ASH 2017

    Many Dana-Farber investigators have presented new research findings and advances at ASH 2017, including:

    Study identifies agent that can reverse resistance to targeted drug in some leukemia cell types

    After discovering how some hematologic cancer cells manage to elude death from a targeted therapy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have double-crossed the cancer cells with a drug that renders them vulnerable to the targeted agent.

    Study explores use of checkpoint inhibitors after relapse from donor stem cell transplant for hematologic cancers

    Immunotherapy agents known as checkpoint inhibitors have shown considerable promise in patients with hematologic cancers who relapse after a transplant with donor stem cells. Preliminary results from the first clinical trial in these patients of one such agent — nivolumab — indicate that along with signs of effectiveness, it also produced significant side effects at the dose initially studied. The findings indicate a need for further clinical trials in this group before being considered for off-label use with these patients.

    Low-dose treatment with interleukin-2 across multiple studies shows benefits in chronic graft-versus-host disease

    Daily low doses of the immune signaling protein interleukin-2 (IL-2) can safely benefit patients who develop chronic graft-versus-host disease following stem cell transplants, including particular benefit in pediatric patients in one small study.

    Study shows combining chemotherapy with targeted drug boosts response in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

    Among younger patients newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), treatment with a combination of chemotherapy and a molecularly targeted drug significantly improves response over what is typically seen with chemotherapy alone, according to an investigator-initiated multi-center phase II clinical trial.

    Sequencing offers clues to progression toward multiple myeloma

    Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have carried out the largest genomic analysis of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), a precursor to full-blown blood cancer that doesn't show outward symptoms. The next-generation sequencing project will help to explain the biology of the disease and how it unfolds through time from asymptomatic stages to symptomatic ones.

    Tracking how multiple myeloma evolves by sequencing DNA in the blood

    Although people with multiple myeloma usually respond well to treatment, the blood cancer generally keeps coming back. Following genetic changes in how the disease evolves over time will help to understand the disease and, eventually, deliver more effective treatments. Researchers now have successfully demonstrated techniques to track these alterations over time by analyzing cell-free DNA (cfDNA) found in blood.

    Rapid responses, few adverse effects seen with targeted agent in Phase 1 trial in rare blood disorder

    In a Phase 1 trial, patients with an advanced or aggressive form of systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM), a rare blood disorder, had rapid and durable responses with few adverse effects following treatment with an investigational drug that targets the genetic mutation found in more than 90 percent of cases. The once-daily pill, BLU-285, targets a mutation called KIT D816V that is found in almost all cases of AdvSM, a disease that originates in mast cells, a type of white blood cell.

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