The 2025 annual meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO), with the theme “Unleashing AI, Genomics, Targets, and Immune Engineering,” turned the spotlight on forefront innovations in blood cancer research and treatment. The three major plenary sessions featured the top-notch leaders whose works are changing the face of treatment and understanding of hematologic malignancies.
In the first Plenary, Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, FASCO was awarded the Emil J. Freireich Distinguished Pioneer Award. Dr. Lonial, a world-renowned expert in multiple myeloma, is also the Chief Medical Officer at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, where he not only leads clinical service but also patient care. His award is a mirror to his long journey of advancing therapies and bettering patient outcomes over the years.
Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD, was the highlight of Plenary II, when she was given the Michael J. Keating Outstanding Achievement Award. Being the Director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Center at the Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor at Harvard Medical School, she has been a major force, both in research and treatment, CLL and related blood cancers. Her work is a continuous source of influence for care standards and drug therapeutic all over the world.
The presentation led by Charles G. Mullighan, MBBS (Hons), MSc, MD in Plenary III, was titled “Genomics and Futures of Personalized Therapy in ALL.” As the Deputy Director of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Cancer Center’s Hematological Malignancies Program, Dr. Mullighan is engaged in studying the genomic and epigenomic changes that lead to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). His initiative is directed at creating accurate models of human ALL and formulating targeted therapies.
First of all, the three keynote presentations stress the main idea how combining genomics with immunotherapy, precision diagnostics, and AI-driven methods is the core for the next generation of blood cancer care. SOHO 2025 emphasized that tailored therapy — based on profound biological knowledge, is not a matter of the distant future but immediate clinical practice.
Besides that, many ambitious ideas from the various clinical trials and therapeutic advances were presented at the conference. They were: a chemotherapy-free regimen showing benefit in Ph-positive ALL; new CAR T-cell therapies in multiple myeloma with encouraging outcomes; and promising new options for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).