Circulating Genomic Determinants of Treatment Failure in Hodgkin-Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of the most curable malignancies with the current treatments. However, in 2022 two major issues are still present: roughly 15%-20% of cases experience a treatment failure and long-term toxicities of chemotherapy are frequent (namely fertility, cardiac and respiratory disorders). As the prediction of these failures and these toxicities remain strongly elusive, we therefore need to develop innovative strategies to personalize HL therapies in order to predict treatment failure and to minimize long-term toxicities of chemotherapy. There are some limitations due to two factors so far: (i) our current understanding of therapeutically targetable pathways in HL is incomplete, largely because the genomic landscape of HL has been undefined due to the relative paucity of malignant tumor cells in an inflamed micro environment, and (ii) good biomarkers to guide therapy are lacking. To overcome these limitations, our aim is to figure out a noninvasive plasma genotyping of HL using ultrasensitive assays developed by Pr Alizadeh’s lab at the University of Stanford and to refine outcome prediction of HL which could ultimately help guide therapy. This project will establish a solid collaboration between the Cancer Institute at the Stanford university and the University of Dijon-Bourgogne in France.