Projects

Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) Cohort

The LEO Study seeks to build and maintain a large and diverse cohort of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This cohort supports a broad research agenda that seeks to identify new clinical, epidemiological, genetic, tumor and treatment factors that influence outcome and the overall survivorship experience.

Once enrolled in the LEO Study, participants complete questionnaires on their health history, lifestyle, quality of life and other factors. The LEO Study team collects clinical, pathology and treatment data from health records. Participants also provide blood and saliva samples that are processed and stored as DNA, plasma and serum in the LEO biorepository.

LEO Study pathologists review and classify diagnostic tumor tissue, some of which is stored in the LEO biorepository. Then the LEO team follows all participants over time to collect updated medical and lifestyle data as well as data on quality of life, new treatments and disease outcomes.

To learn more about the study, visit the LEO website. Also, see a description of the LEO study and access related PDFs on the Lymphoma Epidemiology Laboratory website. This lab is led by James R. Cerhan, M.D., Ph.D.

This research is funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (U01 CA195568).

HoLISTIC Consortium

Hodgkin Lymphoma International Study for Individual Care (HoLISTIC) is an international consortium that is made up of a team of diverse experts from around the world. The consortium studies the salient aspects of Hodgkin lymphoma prognosis, epidemiology, treatment, survivorship and health outcomes across all age groups.

The consortium consists of more than 70 investigators, patients and representatives from the lymphoma advocacy community. The goal of the study is to enhance decision support and promote personalized medicine for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

To learn more about the study, visit the HoLISTIC Consortium website. This research is funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA262265).

Improving outcomes after follicular lymphoma diagnosis

Follicular lymphoma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by episodes of relapse and transformation. When diagnosing this disease, healthcare professionals can apply prognostic models to predict how the disease will likely progress and what treatment options are appropriate for each patient.

Using data from the LEO Study, we will:

  • Develop new predictive models to apply at the time of relapse to help distinguish patients who will likely respond well to standard therapy from those with high-risk disease who may require novel treatment approaches.
  • Evaluate the impact of transformation to aggressive lymphoma and identify predictors of outcome after transformation.
  • Perform focus groups and a discrete choice experiment in patients living with follicular lymphoma to better understand what features of treatment — including how we deliver therapy and measure outcomes of therapy — matter most to patients.

This research is funded by a grant from the Lymphoma Research Foundation.

Evaluation of surrogate end points in clinical trials for newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common type of aggressive lymphoma. Progression-free survival is an established regulatory primary end point for phase 3 studies in front-line diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and has been demonstrated to be a surrogate end point to overall survival. However, progression-free survival requires a period of follow-up to capture sufficient events needed to evaluate the end point.

An evaluation that can accurately identify active disease at completion of planned therapy has clinical relevance and could potentially be used as a surrogate end point for front-line trials. In this study, we will evaluate PET-based response status at the end of therapy as a surrogate end point for regulatory use in clinical trials of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

This research is funded by a grant from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Genentech Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Evaluation of early outcomes as surrogate end points in clinical trials for newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma is a highly curative form of cancer that primarily affects adolescents and young adults. Identifying novel therapies that can improve cure rates while reducing long-term toxicity remains an active area of research.

In this study, we will use harmonized data from the HoLISTIC Consortium to assess whether early outcomes, such as a complete response at the end of treatment, can be surrogate end points in clinical trials of patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma.

This research is funded by the Daniel J. Sargent Career Development Award in Cancer Research from Mayo Clinic.