New Test Predicts How Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Will Fare After Bone Marrow Transplant

Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, primarily targets the lymphatic system, which includes vital components such as the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and mucous membranes, crucial for defending the body against infections. Hodgkin lymphoma treatment commonly involves a stem cell transplant from the patient's own body to rejuvenate the bone marrow and generate new immune cells to combat cancer. Now, researchers have discovered a pioneering method to predict the recurrence of Hodgkin lymphoma in patients who have undergone a bone marrow transplant. This study stands out as the first one to employ the novel spatial profiling technique to predict patient outcomes, potentially leading to more precisely targeted treatment.

In this study, investigators at Cedars-Sinai Cancer (Los Angeles, CA, USA) examined biopsies from 169 individuals diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. They compared the cells and tissues adjacent to the tumors in patients whose cancer was cured by bone marrow transplant to those who experienced a relapse after transplant. By assessing the proximity of cancerous cells to other cell types, they established a method to predict the cancer's response to the transplant using the patient's own stem cells.

The study leveraged extensive datasets and machine learning to focus on a few key data points that could be used in a clinical test. The test could predict patients' relapse risk post-transplant, enabling personalized therapeutic strategies. The team is currently working towards developing this test and is also investigating similar predictive models for other cancer types.

“Our new test, developed at Cedars-Sinai, allows us to identify a group of patients who will likely remain disease-free after this stem cell transplant,” said Akil Merchant, MD, co-director of the Lymphoma Program at Cedars-Sinai. “For these post-transplant patients, the goal is to end subsequent treatments, sparing them from additional therapy with potentially life-threatening side-effects. Our findings could also help us design clinical trials to identify therapies to help patients not cured by their transplant.”

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Cedars-Sinai Cancer