VJHemOnc Podcast

Listener Q&A special: expert insights on CLL, myeloma, and lymphoma

Welcome to the first episode of our Blood Cancer Awareness Month special on VJHemOnc. In this podcast, leading experts answer your most pressing questions on blood cancers. Barbara Eichhorst, MD, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany, discusses chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), followed by Rakesh Popat, MBBS, MRCP, FRCPath, PhD, University College London Hospitals, London, UK, who addresses key questions on myeloma. Finally, Anna Sureda, MD, PhD, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Duran I Reynals Hospital, Barcelona, Spain, shares insights on lymphoma.

Novel strategies and advances in the management and classification of MDS: insights from iwMDS 2025

This episode features discussions from the 3rd International Workshop on Myelodysplastic Syndromes & Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (iwMDS & iwMPN) 2025, held in Lisbon, Portugal. First, you will hear from Uma Borate, MD, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Luca Lanino, MD, PhD, Yale University, New Haven, CT, Robert Hasserjian, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and Zoey Xie, MD, MS, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, who share updates in the classification and risk stratification of MDS. Hetty Carraway, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, and Amy DeZern, MD, MHS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, then go on to discuss novel pathways and therapeutic agents being explored, including telomerase inhibition, the SELECT-MDS-1 study (NCT04797780), and more.

Advances in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia: significance of genetic alterations, current treatment strategies, & ongoing trials

This episode of the VJHemOnc Podcast spotlights advances in the understanding and treatment of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM), featuring Karan Chohan, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Steven Treon, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Anna Maria Frustaci, MD, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy, Neil Berinstein, MD, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, Chan Cheah, MBBS, FRACP, FRCPA, DMSc, Linear Clinical Research and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Australia, and Dima El-Sharkawi, MB, BS, MA, PhD, MRCP, FRCPath, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

The experts focus on the impact of MYD88 and TP53 alterations, current treatment approaches including the use of BTK inhibitors (BTKis), and strategies for patients who discontinue BTKis. They then go on to discuss clinical trial advances, including the BRAWM trial (NCT04624906) and BTK degraders.

FLT3-ITD+ AML: recent trial updates, novel approaches, and MRD

This podcast focuses on FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia (FLT3-ITD+ AML), featuring experts Amir Fathi, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Musa Yilmaz, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Mark Levis, MD, PhD, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, and Harry Erba, MD, PhD, Duke University, Durham, NC. The episode covers the standard of care for frontline treatment, key trial updates including an analysis of the Quantum-First trial (NCT02668653), and the use of measurable residual disease (MRD) using FLT3-ITD as a marker.

Extramedullary disease in multiple myeloma: biology, management strategies, & the RedirecTT-1 trial

In this episode of the VJHemOnc Podcast, we dive into one of the more aggressive and challenging manifestations of multiple myeloma, extramedullary disease (EMD). We are joined by experts Meral Beksac, MD, Istinye University Ankara Liv Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, Mehmet Samur, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Saurabh Zanwar, MD, MBBS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Shaji Kumar, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. They discuss the latest insights on how EMD presents, how it’s managed, and what we’re learning about its complex biology. Plus, we’ll explore emerging treatment strategies and clinical trials, including the RedirecTT-1 trial (NCT04586426).

iwMPN 2025 highlights: novel approaches to the upfront management of myelofibrosis, cardiovascular health in MPNs, & more

In this week’s VJHemOnc podcast, we’ll be sharing highlights in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) from the recent 3rd International Workshop on Myelodysplastic Syndromes & Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (iwMDS & iwMPN) 2025. First, you will hear a roundtable discussion, in which Prithviraj Bose, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Donal McLornan, MB, BCh, MRCP, PhD, FRCPath, University College London Hospitals, London, UK, and Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD, Krukenberg Cancer Center, Halle, Germany, provide insight into novel approaches for the upfront management of myelofibrosis. The experts discuss the need to define a suboptimal response to therapy and outline some of the agents being investigated for myelofibrosis in the frontline setting.

Following this, Alexander Lyon, MA, BM, BCh, PhD, FRCP, FHFA, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK, discusses cardiovascular health in patients with MPNs, and Adrián Mosquera Orgueira, MD, PhD, Santiago Clinic Hospital CHUS, Santiago, Spain, provides insight into the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the MDS/MPN setting.

Managing CNS lymphoma: expert insights and updates from ICML 2025

In this episode of the VJHemOnc podcast, we are joined by experts Kathryn Tringale, MD, UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, and Nikita Dave, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, who share their perspectives on the management of patients with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma from the 18th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML 2025). The discussion covers both primary and secondary CNS lymphoma, providing practical recommendations and guidelines for oncologists, as well as highlighting emerging therapies currently under investigation.

iwMDS wrap-up: translating research into practice to optimize patient care

VJHemOnc recently attended the 3rd International Workshop on Myelodysplastic Syndromes & Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (iwMDS & iwMPN) 2025, held in Lisbon, Portugal. This episode features experts Amer Zeidan, MBBS, MHS, Yale University and Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, Elizabeth Griffiths, MD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, Lisa Pleyer, MD, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria, Andrew Brunner, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and Yasushi Miyazaki, MD, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. They begin by summarizing the key themes from their presentations, which cover a wide range of hot topics, including the role of allotransplant in Japan, communicating about drug efficacy in clinical trials, validating response criteria, and optimizing the use of hypomethylating agents. They then have an insightful discussion on how we can enhance clinical trial design and ultimately improve outcomes for patients with MDS.

Targeting mutant CALR in MPNs with antibodies & cellular therapy: the potential for disease modification

Today’s episode of the VJHemOnc podcast focuses on the targeting of mutant calreticulin (mutCALR) in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) – a trending topic in the field! You will hear leading experts Lucia Masarova, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, and Jean-Jacques Kiladjian, MD, PhD, Saint-Louis Hospital & Paris Diderot University, Paris, France, discuss what makes mutCALR an attractive therapeutic target in MPNs. Following this, John Mascarenhas, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, and Claire Harrison, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, outline the early results of the clinical trial investigating a mutant CALR-targeted antibody, INCA33989, which were presented as a late breaking abstract at the recent 30th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA). Additionally, Prof. Harrison comments on other targeted therapies being evaluated in MPNs. Finally, Alex Rampotas, MBBS, MRCP, University College London, London, UK, and Zoë Wong, BSc, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, provide insight into the development and evaluation of a novel CAR T-cell therapy targeting mutCALR in myelofibrosis (MF).

Treating elderly or unfit patients with AML: current approach and future directions

This episode of the VJHemOnc podcast focuses on the treatment of elderly or unfit patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Featuring experts Farhad Ravandi, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Gail Roboz, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, NY, Marina Konopleva, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, NY, Joshua Zeidner, MD, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC, Nelli Bejanyan, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, Parastoo Dahi, MD, MS, Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York City, NY, and Andrius Žučenka, MD, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Vilnius, Lithuania. They discuss the current standard of care in the frontline setting, considerations for transplant eligibility, and future approaches being explored, such as triplet combinations including targeted agents.