Again MEMO has asked experts in the field to review their choice of presentations from the ASH meeting 2016, held in San Diego from the 3rd to the 6th December last year. Reviews on selected topics in hematology were invited, reflecting dynamic advancements in understanding and treatment of hematologic disorders. Exciting times we live in as hematologists!

Daniel Heintel reviews novel strategies in the management of lymphomas and readers will find important, practice-changing information coming from large phase III trials like the GALLIUM and LyMA trials in his contribution [1]. Arnold Bolomsky and Heinz Ludwig cover the area relating to treatment of high-risk myeloma [2]. At the 2016 ASH meeting, already close to 15% of myeloma abstracts dealt with this difficult-to-treat subset of myeloma patients. In the contribution, readers will find results of ground-breaking studies presented at the meeting and information on a series of new substances, for which early results raise hope that significant progress can be achieved in the area.

AL amyloidosis has long been a disease, which due to its rarity, has been in the focus of only a few specialists. However, the importance of having critical knowledge about when to suspect AL amyloidosis and how to achieve a correct diagnosis has been increasingly recognized. Hermine Agis is reviewing the recent developments as presented at the ASH meeting, as well as giving important background information on the disease [3]. Therapeutic progress in myelodysplastic syndromes seems to be an ongoing struggle, but potential molecular targets are now increasingly identified. Michael Pfeilstöcker is giving an overview on the different concepts of treatment in low-risk and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and highlights the most attractive drugs in development [4].

Currently, approximately 200 allogeneic stem cell transplantations are performed in Austria each year. Georg Hopfinger reviews main aspects of the procedure and provides an overview on the meeting’s most important presentations related to the subject [5]. Finally, Clemens Feistritzer reviews recent developments in hemostaseology [6], including data from a retrospective analysis shedding light on the controversially discussed question of whether direct oral anticoagulants can be safely applied in cancer patients. I am sure the reader will find the contributions highly informative and relevant for daily clinical practice.