EHA 2025 Conference highlights

6 Aug. 2025
The European Haematology Association (EHA) Congress 2025 held its annual conference in Milan this June bringing together leading haematology researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates from across the globe. Although we couldn’t attend in person, we followed the sessions online that focused on Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CMML).

European Haematology Association (EHA) Conference 2025 in Milan – event banner

Key takeaways from EHA 2025: 

 

1 - Artifical intelligence used in blood cancer research and care 

An exciting development is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in blood cancer research and care. AI will increasingly be used to: 
  • collect, analyse and track patient data 
  • help diagnose complex conditions like MDS, MPNs and CMML more quickly and accurately   
This will help design more targeted and individualised treatments, and illustrates how AI is an exciting step forward in research and drug development. 

 

 

2 - New treatments for MDS on the horizon 

There’s a strong appetite in the MDS community to find new treatments for patients.

 

  • Luspatercept, which has been a first-line treatment for a number of years in the US, Canada, and Europe, is already licensed in the UK for the treatment of certain MDS sub-types but is not yet funded by the NHS.  This is hugely frustrating – the reasons are multi-layered with several different organisations involved at various stages. Progress is being made, albeit slowly. 

 

  • However, more encouraging is the news that newer drugs like Imetelstat and Elritercept, which have shown good results in clinical trials, are now being fast-tracked for approval in Europe.  This will bring them a step closer to being available in the UK.  The need for more effective, accessible treatments for MDS remains urgent. We're committed to keeping this issue firmly on the UK blood cancer policy agenda.

 

In summary

There is a big push in the haematology community to develop new treatments for MDS, MPNs and AML.  With the help of AI, research is moving forward quickly in immunotherapy, genomics and in improving quality of life for patients - while a search for a cure continues. Encouragingly there are some promising new treatments already on the horizon. 

 

At MDS UK, amplifying the voice of MDS patients within the broader blood cancer community—both in the UK and internationally—is a key part of our mission.
We serve on the steering committee of the MDS Global Alliance, and are active members of the MDS Foundation, the UK Blood Cancer Alliance, and Cancer52. We will continue to advocate for, and wherever possible financially support, research into MDS and will keep pushing to ensure MDS patients in the UK benefit from the latest research and emerging therapies, both now and in the future.
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