Studies point to a growing role for new therapies and immunotherapies in treating blood cancers 

Targeted therapies and immunotherapies are increasingly offering viable alternatives to the chemotherapies that have stood for decades as a mainstay of treatment for individuals living with blood cancers, according to studies presented at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, which took place from December 6–9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, and online.

Prof Laura Michaelis, Professor of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, US, who moderated the press briefing ‘Emerging therapies and immunotherapies in blood cancers’, said: “Researchers are focused on therapeutic approaches that can offer the same or better responses with less toxicity – meaning fewer early deaths, less organ damage, and better quality-of-life for patients.”

In the first study, a combination regimen of azacitidine and venetoclax led to better responses and improved event-free survival in patients who were fit enough to undergo conventional induction chemotherapy for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia. The results suggest the combination can lead to better outcomes with substantially less hospitalisation and a lower symptom burden for patients with intermediate- to high-risk disease.

The second study reports that a chemotherapy-free combination of epcoritamab, a bispecific antibody, and rituximab and lenalidomide, an immunotherapeutic combination, brought a robust and lasting response, showing promise as a chemotherapy alternative for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma.

The third and fourth studies reflect the expanding role of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which target particular enzymes to inhibit cancer cell growth.

One study suggests a non-covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, pirtobrutinib, may offer equivalent or better outcomes compared with the older covalent BTK inhibitor, ibrutinib, for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma.

The final study – focused on a combination therapy that included ponatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and blinatumomab, an immunotherapy – offers evidence that chemotherapy can be omitted from frontline treatment for Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukaemia without sacrificing efficacy or safety.