Gene expression profiling in Hodgkin lymphoma

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Gene expression profiling in Hodgkin lymphoma in the international RATHL trial

• IRAS ID

  141257

• Contact name

  Cathy Burton

• Contact email

  cathy.burton1@nhs.net

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 0 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  The treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma has improved significantly over the last few decades, but it still remains difficult to accurately predict at diagnosis, how an individual patient is likely to respond to treatment. Therefore there is concern that some patients are over-treated resulting in increased side-effects and long-term consequences, whereas others are under-treated and succumb to the disease. A biomarker that could be applied at diagnosis would allow accurate determination of the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient, which current prognostic indices are unable to accurately predict. The aim of this study is to retrospectively identify biomarkers at diagnosis, in a group of patients who have received standard treatment in a clinical trial. It is intended the biomarker could predict those patients who may benefit from more intensive regimens so improving long-term survival, but avoiding intensive treatments for those whom it is unnecessary.
  The British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver under the supervision of Prof. Randy Gascoyne have developed a panel of 23 genes which appear to predict treatment outcome in Hodgkin lymphoma. The aim of the study is to test this gene panel on the diagnostic material that has been routinely collected in the RATHL trial and stored at the Haematological Malignancy Diagnostic Service (HMDS) in Leeds. Material will be sent from Leeds to Vancouver for the gene expression profiling. Testing this gene panel on a large patient cohort with accompanying detailed outcome data will allow validation of the gene panel. It is necessary to demonstrate that these results can be replicated on gene expression platforms currently in use in UK. Therefore gene expression profiling for the same samples will be performed in Oxford and Leeds with the intention of introducing this prospectively into clinical trials and routine clinical practice.

• REC name

  South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/SC/1435

• Date of REC Opinion

  11 Dec 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion