As chemotherapy use declines and targeted therapies assume a larger role in cancer treatment, researchers are looking beyond response rates to focus on real-world feasibility and reducing treatment burden for patients.
One of the defining themes at this year’s European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress was that response rates alone are no longer enough. The field is moving beyond traditional clinical endpoints alone to prioritise improving the full patient experience. Researchers are now looking at how long responses last, how specific treatments affect daily life and how well they work outside the clinical trial setting.
Increasingly, the focus is not only on individual medicines, but also on therapeutic approaches and modalities that can be applied across diseases and treatment settings”
As we develop new therapies, this evolution is shaping how we approach research and clinical development. Increasingly, the focus is not only on individual medicines, but also on therapeutic approaches and modalities that can be applied across diseases and treatment settings, helping to further address unmet needs while improving patients’ quality of life.
Rethinking the role of chemotherapy
The move away from chemotherapy is nothing new, but the conversation has become more nuanced in recent years. Previously, we wanted to understand whether new treatments could match or beat chemotherapy in clinical trials. Now the questions are more practical: when should chemotherapy be replaced, where does it still have a role and can it be replaced with a more convenient option for patients?
chemotherapy-free approaches continue to gain momentum, with no signs of slowing”
Data presented at EHA 2026 suggest that chemotherapy-free approaches continue to gain momentum, with no signs of slowing. These newer regimens often combine immune-based treatments and researchers are evaluating them not only for tumour control, but also for how well patients tolerate treatment over time and whether the results are seen consistently across patient groups. This is especially important in blood cancers, where many patients require treatment over the course of several years.
The rise of T cell-engaging therapies
T cell-engaging therapies were also a prominent topic, reflecting increasing interest in therapeutic platforms with potential applicability across multiple haematologic malignancies. At AbbVie, these questions are informing our broader thinking about research across blood cancers and treatment settings and are guiding how we develop and evaluate treatments, especially in the multiple myeloma setting where further innovation is still needed.
[There is] increasing interest in therapeutic platforms with potential applicability across multiple haematologic malignancies”
These agents are designed to redirect immune effector cells towards malignant cells and are being evaluated across disease types, lines of therapy and in patients previously treated with other immune-based modalities, including CAR T-cell therapy. As the field advances, key considerations such as earlier-line use, rational combinations, the need for step-up dosing, close monitoring and specific safety mitigation strategies will also influence how readily these therapies can be incorporated into routine clinical practice. Continued research will be essential to better define their place in therapy and the populations most likely to benefit safely and effectively. As patients with blood cancers live longer, these considerations are becoming more significant factors when evaluating the overall value of a therapeutic approach.
AbbVie is developing a portfolio of T-cell engagers, with a focus in multiple myeloma. Our goal is to develop T-cell engagers that offer a potentially simpler dosing and administration regimen, while delivering meaningful clinical benefit. In addition to efficacy, this approach prioritises convenience and treatment simplicity, with the goal of reducing treatment burden and improving tolerability. It also seeks to support the development of novel combinations with T-cell engagers and other complementary modalities in a range of blood cancers to potentially enhance the overall patient benefit.
Measures of success: looking beyond response rates
Historically, clinical endpoints such as response rate and progression-free survival have guided development decisions. While these measures remain critically important, they do not capture the full picture of treatment impact. As researchers increasingly consider quality of life and treatment burden alongside efficacy, data presented at EHA 2026 also underscored the value of real-world evidence. These studies can provide insight into how therapies perform outside the controlled setting of clinical trials, helping researchers better understand treatment patterns and outcomes across broader and more diverse patient populations.
Implications for R&D
This shifting perspective is already reshaping how new treatments are developed. First, trial design is evolving to include endpoints that reflect the treatment burden, tolerability and other patient experience-related metrics, while incorporating real-world outcomes to better understand how treatments perform outside the trial setting.
As the field increasingly centres its thinking around a therapeutic platform-based approach rather than on single solutions, development strategies must consider how they may be studied across diseases, combinations and patient populations. This shift reflects a growing focus on innovative modalities designed to better target cancer cells while addressing the diverse needs of patients across haematologic malignancies.
Making a patient-centred impact
As we lay the groundwork for the future of haematology and oncology drug development, achieving a strong treatment response remains essential, but how that response translates into a patient’s daily experience and quality of life has become equally important.
The various studies presented from around the world at EHA drove this home, showcasing lower reliance on chemotherapy and the growing use of targeted and immune-engaging therapies.
By considering the factors that shape a patient’s day-to-day experience alongside traditional measures of efficacy, AbbVie is focused on helping to advance therapeutic approaches that are designed not only to deliver meaningful outcomes, but also to better support the lived experience of patients over time.
About the author
Dr Daejin Abidoye serves as Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Solid Tumor and Hematology at AbbVie. In this role he is responsible for the clinical development of all assets in late oncology clinical development. His career includes over 20 years of experience in oncology, cancer research and drug development. Prior to joining AbbVie, he was Therapeutic Area Lead for Oncology Development and Clinical Research at Gilead Sciences. He has also held various roles at Seattle Genetics and Roche-Genentech. Dr Abidoye is a board-certified oncologist with a career in clinical practice at Scripps Health in Southern California.
Dr Abidoye completed his residency in internal medicine at St Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston and his fellowship training in haematology and oncology at the University of Chicago. He received his MD from the University of Lagos in Nigeria and his MPH degree in clinical research from Temple University in Philadelphia.
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