Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL) is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system, which leads to the abnormal growth of lymphatic cells that in turn spread beyond the lymphatic systems and compromise the immune system’s ability to fight infection. Typical symptoms of HL include the painless swellings of the lymph nodes, spleen or other tissue, as well as fever, weight loss or night sweats. The main causes for the development of HL are still unknown. Recent research shows that this tumour has its origin from a degenerated lymphatic cell, the B lymphocyte.

Therapy options for HL patients depend on the stage of the disease and number and regions of lymph nodes affected. The first line treatment of HL, after the initial diagnosis, consists of chemotherapy and/or radiation, achieving cure rates of up to 80%. Standard of care for patients with refractory or relapsing disease after initial therapy comprises salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. For patients exhibiting a complete response after salvage chemotherapy, 5 year progression free survival is 79%, but this number drops to 59% for patients only exhibiting partial responses and drops further to 17% for patients resistant to second line therapy regimens. Since there is no standard of care in patients with resistant/refractory HL, there is an especially high need to develop novel therapies for these patients.