By:
Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP
Editor in Chief, SOHO Insider
Emory University Winship Cancer Institute
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled, by the inexhaustible variety of life.”—F. Scott Fitzgerald
After ASH 2025, I was both excited and overwhelmed. The wealth of data across all hematologic malignancies was both inspirational and at the same time intimidating. How do we incorporate all this new information, all these new options, the multitude of immune and genomic markers into our daily practice, let alone provide access to these options for patients across many different geographic settings? How do we bring the full force of these new advances to bear on the challenges our patients experience? It is quite a contradiction, and one that needs to be sorted through as we adopt treatments that can have tangible impacts on so many people.
Then I got back into the “real world” and was confronted with the realities of a federal health machine bound to take us back to the medicine of the 1950s, a time when cancer therapy was nonexistent due to limited understanding of biology and limited tools. Time-tested public health guidance is seemingly a thing of the past, which relegates our push to cure and understand cancer into a much more challenging place. Failure to control diseases like measles, covid, influenza, and other common viruses have a significant impact on blood cancer patients who are highly susceptible to these illnesses as a consequence of our highly effective but significantly immunosuppressive treatment. Vaccinating patients isn’t the solution; we need to be in a community where the prevalence of these preventable diseases is lower if we wish to limit the impact on our patients.
We have so much potential, so many lives dedicated to treatment and prevention of blood cancers, terabytes of data on immune function and genomic sequencing, yet basic science and the core principles of evidence, logic, and data are under attack. Our patients’ trust in us has been undermined by disinformation. Never have we been so close to breakthrough, yet never has our training and expertise been viewed with such skepticism. But that is the difference: those who seek to relegate us to the past, to deny the simple logic and beauty of a well conducted trial in favor of anecdote, don’t have that calling. They don’t get to see the patient respond on a phase 1 trial, or hear 10 myeloma experts grapple with a tough case. We have the fortunate circumstance of curiosity and purpose that pushes us every day to make a difference. At ASH 2025, I saw that purpose on bright display among the 25,000 attendees and it was glorious. I saw people talking in a constructive and collaborative way to help make the world a better place, and it gave me hope, it energized me, and I came back with new ideas and excitement. So, if you were like me, inspired and overwhelmed, excited and anxious, fear not, for you are not alone. There is a worldwide community ready to take up the cause with you. If you are still confused about what to do and when, come to SOHO 2026 where my colleagues will help make sense of it all!
Sincerely,
