HOUSTON — The 10th Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO), which organizers say is the largest-ever hybrid meeting of the society, began with opening remarks delivered on September 28 by 2022-2023 SOHO President Moshe Talpaz, MD.
“It is my honor to welcome you to the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology. It is wonderful to return to this, an in-person meeting, to celebrate our 10th anniversary,” Dr. Talpaz said.
Dr. Talpaz, a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Health’s Rogel Cancer Center, said he was glad to see the “remarkable number” of attendees at this year’s hybrid meeting, which is the first SOHO meeting with an in-person attendance option since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SOHO has more attendees this year than in any other year,” he said.
Dr. Talpaz chose the theme of this year’s meeting, “Novel Immunotherapies in Hematologic Malignancies: BiTEs, TRiTEs, and Cellular Therapies,” to “highlight the incredible pace at which treatments for hematologic malignancies are advancing; this is really the renaissance of immunotherapy,” he said.
The “remarkable” progress in the field involves four primary therapeutic approaches, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, bispecific antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, Dr. Talpaz said. These therapies, which are “reaching fruition,” are now at the “forefront in the fight against this cancer,” he said.
“So, over the next few days, I look forward to hearing some exciting data on the latest finding in this data,” Dr. Talpaz said.
2022 meeting highlights
Attendees of this year’s meeting have many opportunities to learn more about these therapies and other topics, as the meeting features 153 presentations, 14 general sessions, more than 120 speakers, 486 poster presentations, and independent satellite symposia and expert sessions.
The SOHO 2022 mobile app allows attendees to access content, ask questions during sessions, answer polls, and more. For those who might want to revisit a session or watch one that they missed, the hybrid meeting format allows meeting attendees to access the meeting content online for an entire year.
For those who want to continue learning about the latest research and interact with fellow professionals, Dr. Talpaz highlighted SOHO’s monthly publication, Blood Cancers Today, as well as SOHO’s new partnership with DocMatter, a global medical community platform that SOHO members can use for in-depth clinical conversations. To learn more about the partnership and join the platform, visit SOHO-DocMatter (sohoonline.org).
Dr. Talpaz also highlighted the society’s ever-growing membership, which started with around 400 members and has grown to include more than 6,000 members from 125 countries. He encouraged attendees to consider becoming a SOHO Ambassador to garner more international members.
“In an effort to increase geographical diversity and promote international understanding among hematologic oncology experts from different parts of the world, SOHO created the SOHO Ambassador program,” Dr. Talpaz said. “Each member of the program acts as an ambassador for the society in their respective countries.”
To learn more about becoming a SOHO Ambassador, visit soho.click/contact.
Future SOHO meetings
The next SOHO event, the 2022 SOHO Highlights State of the Art and Next Questions Meeting, will be held virtually on October 26, 2022. The 2023 SOHO Annual Meeting will be held September 6-9, 2023, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.
