Experts Walk Through Recent Hematologic Malignancy Treatment Updates

There were several notable updates to have come out of the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting across the realm of hematologic malignancies, like for those with polycythemia vera or a blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, according to Dr. Raajit K. Rampal, who sat down for a post-meeting interview with Dr. Joshua K. Sabari.

During the interview, Rampal began by walking through a plenary session which highlighted the use of rusfertide in patients with polycythemia vera, a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm (blood cancer) which is characterized by an elevation of the red blood cells. In the presentation, investigators shared that the investigative therapeutic allowed patients who were treated to avoid phlebotomies and experience symptomatic improvement. Therefore, Rampal explained, that these outcomes position rusfertide as a potential therapy for patients and is pending regulatory approval.

To learn more about the use of rusfertide in patients with polycythemia vera, and the recent ASCO 2025 data, tune into our conversation with Dr. Aaron Gerds, who walked us through these findings.

Another topic highlighted by the pair focused on a study in essential thrombocythemia. The study in question evaluated ropeginterferon alfa-2b, which is an already-approved agent for patients with polycythemia vera, with standard essential thrombocythemia treatment. Data to have come out of this study demonstrated that ropeginterferon led to reduced thrombotic risk, improved symptom control, as well as decreased driver mutation burden.

Sabari concluded by thanking Rampal for his insights. He said: “Yeah, quite impressive. You know, it's interesting that hematologic malignancies are truly an amalgamation of many diseases. Thank you for summarizing that so eloquently. I appreciate you being here and thank you for all the work you do with CURE and for our readers.”

Rampal is the director of the Center for Hematologic Malignancies, as well as the director of the Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, located in New York. Sabari is the editor in chief of CURE. He also serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of High Reliability Organization Initiatives at Perlmutter Cancer Center, also located in New York.

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