PHILADELPHIA – Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine will present data on the latest advances in blood cancer and classical hematology research at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, taking place Dec. 6-9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. For updates, follow Penn Medicine on LinkedIn, Threads, and X, and Penn MD Forum on X.
Expert interviews
Hematology experts from Penn Medicine are available to comment on a wide range of research and care topics during the meeting onsite and by video call, phone, or email. To arrange interviews, please contact Meagan Raeke at Meagan.Raeke@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 267-693-6224.
Penn Medicine leaders recognized by ASH
Alison Wakoff Loren, MD, MSCE, division chief of Hematology-Oncology, has been elected to serve as the incoming vice president of the society. Loren will serve a one-year term as vice president starting after the 2025 Annual Meeting, followed by successive terms as president-elect and then will lead the organization as president. Additionally, Adam Cuker, MD, MS, was elected to a four-year term as councillor on the ASH Executive Committee.
Nancy A. Speck, PhD, the John W. Eckman Professor in Medical Science II and chair of the department of Cell and Developmental Biology, will be recognized at the Annual Meeting as the 2025 recipient of the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for her pivotal work in hematopoiesis (the process of blood cell production) and leukemogenesis (the process of leukemia development).
Press releases
Penn hematologist elected to lead American Society of Hematology
Nancy A. Speck honored for pioneering research in hematology
Check this page for additional releases as embargoes lift during the meeting.
Key presentations
Penn Medicine experts will present updates across the spectrum of preclinical, clinical, and population-based research in both classical and malignant hematology. Additionally, Penn experts are co-authors and major contributors to studies being presented in the Plenary Scientific Session and Late-Breaking Abstracts (LBA) Session. In the Plenary, a multicenter Phase II study, co-authored by Alexander Perl, MD, compared the standard intensive induction chemotherapy to a lower-intensity approach for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (Plenary Presentation 6). In the LBA Session, results from a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded phase III study, co-authored by Adam Cuker, MD, MS, that investigated a monoclonal antibody as second-line treatment for immune thrombocytopenia, an autoimmune disorder that causes low platelet counts, leading to potentially life-threatening bleeding events (LBA-2), will be presented.
Clinical trial highlights:
- Long-term follow-up of CAR T for follicular lymphoma (Abstract 1667): Approval of the CAR T cell therapy tisagenlecleucel, originally developed at Penn, was extended to patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma in 2022. Extended follow-up data from the Phase II ELARA clinical trial that led to this approval continues to support its use, with more than 75 percent of patients still alive and approximately half without new cancer growth, after a median follow-up of at least five years. Stephen J. Schuster, MD, the Robert and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Professor in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Lymphoma Clinical Care and Research, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 9:30 a.m. ET in West Hall D2.
- Bispecific antibody following CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma (Abstract 7733): Many patients with multiple myeloma have an initial response to CAR T cell therapy, but later experience a cancer relapse. To combat this issue, researchers tested a consolidation therapy strategy by giving the bispecific antibody cevostamab several weeks after CAR T cell therapy, in a Phase II clinical trial. Based on a preliminary analysis, the strategy appears safe and feasible, with more than 90 percent of patients showing a complete response without signs of minimal residual disease after one year. Adam Cohen, MD, director of Myeloma Immunotherapy, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET in West Hall E1.
- Enhanced CAR T cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Abstract 8151): A Penn-developed “armored” CAR T cell therapy that secretes interleukin 18 (IL18), a pro-inflammatory cytokine capable of enhancing the immune system, has shown promise for patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Now, the same therapy is being tested in a new cohort of patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The first five patients with ALL to receive the treatment all had complete responses and none have relapsed after a median of follow-up of about 15 months. Matthew Connor, MD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Monday, Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. ET in Valencia Room W415D.
Additional oral abstract highlights:
- Maternal morbidity and preterm birth rates among pregnant individuals with sickle cell disease (Abstract 8584): This retrospective cohort study evaluated data from more than 300 million patients at 1,748 hospitals to provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of maternity complications among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the U.S. The analysis found that the rate of CDC-defined severe maternal morbidity was 25 percent in individuals with SCD, compared to 2.4 percent in those without. The adjusted odds ratio for preterm birth was 1.66 times higher in those with SCD than those without. Aaron Cheng, MD, a Hematology-Oncology fellow, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 12 p.m. ET in W308.
- CAR T cell therapy for a rare, non-cancer blood disorder (Abstract 14087): CAR T cell therapy has been revolutionary for many blood cancers, and this preclinical study shows the approach may be effective for other types of blood disorders. Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a rare, life-threatening blood condition that leads to small blood clots throughout the body. The researchers developed a CAR to target the IGHV1-69+ B cells involved in the disorder and showed it was effective at controlling iTTP-like symptoms in mice. Ivan Cohen, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Marco Ruella, MD, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 9:30 a.m. ET in W307.
- Defining CAR T-associated immune-related adverse events (Abstract 14221): This research team proposed a new term, “CAR T immune-related adverse events (CirAE)” to collectively refer to a group of delayed toxicities arising after BCMA-directed CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma. The team showed that reports of cranial nerve palsies, Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms, and colitis, are caused by CD4+ CAR T-cells and related to higher non-cancer mortality, largely driven by infection. In a separate poster (Abstract 12231), the team also proposed a solution to mitigate CirAE. Julia Han Noll, a graduate student in the lab of Joseph Fraietta, PhD, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Monday, Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. ET in West Hall E1. The Poster Session, with Luca Paruzzo, MD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Marco Ruella, MD, is Monday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. ET in West Halls B3-B4.
- CAR T cell therapy for cancer treatment in people living with HIV (Abstract 7144): Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in people living with HIV; however, this population was excluded from clinical trials of CAR T cell therapy, due to safety concerns. In this retrospective data analysis, researchers found that toxicities and treatment-related mortality were largely similar in people living with HIV who received CAR T cell therapy for NHL compared to a matched cohort of patients without HIV, paving the way for a prospective clinical trial. Stefan Barta, MD, an associate professor of Hematology-Oncology and executive officer of the AIDS Malignancy Consortium, will present the findings in an Oral Abstract Session on Monday, Dec. 8 at 2:45 p.m. ET in W224ABEF.
All locations are in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
###
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $580 million awarded in the 2023 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Doylestown Health, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.9 billion enterprise powered by nearly 49,000 talented faculty and staff.