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In the last decades, the development of high-throughput molecular assays has revolutionised cancer diagnostics, paving the way for the concept of personalised cancer medicine. This progress has been driven by the introduction of such technologies through biomarker-driven oncology trials. In this review, strengths and limitations of various state-of-the-art sequencing technologies, including gene panel sequencing (DNA and RNA), whole-exome/whole-genome sequencing and whole-transcriptome sequencing, are explored, focusing on their ability to identify clinically relevant biomarkers with diagnostic, prognostic and/or predictive impact. This includes the need to assess complex biomarkers, for example microsatellite instability, tumour mutation burden and homologous recombination deficiency, to identify patients suitable for specific therapies, including immunotherapy. Furthermore, the crucial role of biomarker analysis and multidisciplinary molecular tumour boards in selecting patients for trial inclusion is discussed in relation to various trial concepts, including drug repurposing. Recognising that today's exploratory techniques will evolve into tomorrow's routine diagnostics and clinical study inclusion assays, the importance of emerging technologies for multimodal diagnostics, such as proteomics and in vivo drug sensitivity testing, is also discussed. In addition, key regulatory aspects and the importance of patient engagement in all phases of a clinical trial are described. Finally, we propose a set of recommendations for consideration when planning a new precision cancer medicine trial.image

Purpose Patients diagnosed with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (aHL) have historically been risk-stratified using the International Prognostic Score (IPS). This study investigated if a machine learning (ML) approach could outperform existing models when it comes to predicting overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Patients and Methods This study used patient data from the Danish National Lymphoma Register for model development (development cohort). The ML model was developed using stacking, which combines several predictive survival models (Cox proportional hazard, flexible parametric model, IPS, principal component, penalized regression) into a single model, and was compared with two versions of IPS (IPS-3 and IPS-7) and the newly developed aHL international prognostic index (A-HIPI). Internal model validation was performed using nested cross-validation, and external validation was performed using patient data from the Swedish Lymphoma Register and Cancer Registry of Norway (validation cohort). Results In total, 707 and 760 patients with aHL were included in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. Examining model performance for OS in the development cohort, the concordance index (C-index) for the ML model, IPS-7, IPS-3, and A-HIPI was found to be 0.789, 0.608, 0.650, and 0.768, respectively. The corresponding estimates in the validation cohort were 0.749, 0.700, 0.663, and 0.741. For PFS, the ML model achieved the highest C-index in both cohorts (0.665 in the development cohort and 0.691 in the validation cohort). The time-varying AUCs for both the ML model and the A-HIPI were consistently higher in both cohorts compared with the IPS models within the first 5 years after diagnosis. ConclusionT he new prognostic model for aHL on the basis of ML techniques demonstrated a substantial improvement compared with the IPS models, but yielded a limited improvement in predictive performance compared with the A-HIPI.

Cardiovascular diseases, especially congestive heart failure (CHF), are known complications of anthracyclines, but the risk for patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (HDT-ASCT) is not well established. With T-cell therapies emerging as alternatives, studies of long-term complications after HDT-ASCT are warranted. Danish patients treated with HDT-ASCT for aggressive lymphoma between 2001 and 2017 were matched 1:5 on sex, birth year and Charlson comorbidity score to the general population. Events were captured using nationwide registers. A total of 787 patients treated with HDT-ASCT were identified. Median follow-up was 7.6 years. The risk of CHF was significantly increased in the HDT-ASCT population compared to matched comparators with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 5.5 (3.8–8.1). The 10-year cumulative incidence of CHF was 8.0% versus 2.0% (p < 0.001). Male sex, ≥2 lines of therapy, hypertension and cumulative anthracycline dose (≥300 mg/m2) were risk factors for CHF. In a separate cohort of 4089 lymphoma patients, HDT-ASCT was also significantly associated with increased risk of CHF (adjusted HR of 2.6 [1.8–3.8]) when analysed as a time-dependent exposure. HDT-ASCT also increased the risk of other cardiac diseases. These findings are applicable for the benefit/risk assessment of HDT-ASCT versus novel therapies.

Previous studies concerning reproductive patterns among non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) survivors are scarce and those available have reported conflicting results. Treatment regimens vary considerably between aggressive and indolent NHL and studies of reproductive patterns by subtypes are warranted. In this matched cohort study, we identified all NHL patients aged 18-40 years and diagnosed between 2000 and 2018 from the Swedish and Danish lymphoma registers, and the clinical database at Oslo University Hospital (n = 2090). Population comparators were matched on sex, birth year and country (n = 19 427). Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression. Males and females diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma subtypes had lower childbirth rates (HRfemale: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.31-0.59, HRmale: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.47-0.78) than comparators during the first 3 years after diagnosis. For indolent lymphomas, childbirth rates were not significantly different from comparators (HRfemale: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.48-1.04, HRmale: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.70-1.27) during the same period. Childbirth rates reached those of comparators for all subtypes after 3 years but the cumulative incidence of childbirths was decreased throughout the 10-year follow-up for aggressive NHL. Children of NHL patients were more likely to be born following assisted reproductive technology than those of comparators, except for male indolent lymphoma patients. In conclusion, fertility counselling is particularly important for patients with aggressive NHL.

Childbirth rates in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) survivors have historically been reduced compared to the general population. Understanding if contemporary treatment protocols are associated with reduced fertility is crucial as treatment guidelines shift toward more liberal use of intensive chemotherapy. We identified 2834 individuals aged 18-40 years with cHL in Swedish and Danish lymphoma registers, and in the clinical database at Oslo University Hospital diagnosed 1995-2018, who were linked to national medical birth registers. Cox regression adjusted for stage, performance status, year, and age at diagnosis was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) contrasting time to first childbirth by treatment groups (ABVD, 2-4 BEACOPP, 6-8 BEACOPP) up to 10 years after diagnosis. Overall, 74.8% of patients were treated with ABVD, 3.1% with 2-4 BEACOPP and 11.2% with 6-8 BEACOPP. Adjusted HRs comparing childbirth rates in individuals treated with 6-8 BEACOPP, and 2-4 BEACOPP to ABVD were 0.53 (CI: 0.36-0.77) and 0.33 (CI: 0.12-0.91) for males, and 0.91 (CI: 0.61-1.34) and 0.38 (CI: 0.12-1.21) for females. Cumulative incidence of childbirths after 10 years was 19.8% (CI: 14.5%-27.0%) for males and 34.3% (CI: 25.8%-45.6%) for females treated with 6-8 BEACOPP. Proportions of children born after assisted reproductive technique (ART) treatments were 77.4% (CI: 60.2-88.6%) for males following 6-8 BEACOPP, and <11% for females. Among ABVD treated patients the corresponding proportions were 12.2% (CI: 8.5%-17.3%) and 10.6% (CI: 7.4%-14.9%). BEACOPP treatment is associated with decreased childbirth rates compared to ABVD in male, but not female, cHL patients, despite widespread access to ART in the Nordics.

Non-endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare germinal centre B-cell-derived malignancy with the genetic hallmark of MYC gene translocation and with rapid tumour growth as a distinct clinical feature. To investigate treatment outcomes, loss of lifetime and relapse risk in adult BL patients treated with intensive immunochemotherapy, retrospective clinic-based and population-based lymphoma registries from six countries were used to identify 264 real-world patients. The median age was 47 years and the majority had advanced-stage disease and elevated LDH. Treatment protocols were R-CODOX-M/IVAC (47%), R-hyper-CVAD (16%), DA-EPOCH-R (11%), R-BFM/GMALL (25%) and other (2%) leading to an overall response rate of 89%. The two-year overall survival and event-free survival were 84% and 80% respectively. For patients in complete remission/unconfirmed, the two-year relapse risk was 6% but diminished to 0 center dot 6% for patients reaching 12 months of post-remission event-free survival (pEFS12). The loss of lifetime for pEFS12 patients was 0 center dot 4 (95% CI: -0 center dot 7 to 2) months. In conclusion, real-world outcomes of adult BL are excellent following intensive immunochemotherapy. For pEFS12 patients, the relapse risk was low and life expectancy similar to that of a general population, which is important information for developing meaningful follow-up strategies with increased focus on survivorship and less focus on routine disease surveillance.

PURPOSE: Estimates of short- and long-term survival for young patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) are of considerable interest. We investigated cHL prognosis in the era of contemporary treatment at different milestones during the follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: On the basis of a Nordic cohort of 2,582 patients diagnosed at ages 18 to 49 years between 2000 and 2013, 5-year relapse risks and 5-year restricted losses in expectation of lifetime were estimated for all patients and for patients who achieved event-free survival (EFS) for 12 (EFS12), 24 (EFS24), 36 (EFS36) or 60 (EFS60) months. The median follow-up time was 9 years (range, 2.9 to 16.8 years). RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival was 95% (95% CI, 94% to 96%). The 5-year risk of relapse was 13.4% (95% CI, 12.1% to 14.8%) overall but decreased to 4.2% (95% CI, 3.8% to 4.6%) given that patients reached EFS24. Relapse risk for patients treated with six to eight courses of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP) was comparable to that of patients treated with six to eight courses of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) despite more adverse risk criteria among patients treated with BEACOPP. Both from diagnosis and if EFS24 was reached, the losses in expectation of lifetime during the following 5 years were small (from diagnosis, 45 days [95% CI, 35 to 54 days] and for patients who reached EFS24, 13 days [95% CI, 7 to 20 days]). In stage-stratified analyses of 5-year restricted loss in expectation of lifetime, patients with stages I to IIA disease had no noteworthy excess risk of death after they reached EFS24, whereas risk remained measurable for patients with stages IIB to IV cHL. CONCLUSION: Real-world data on young patients with cHL from the Nordic countries show excellent outcomes. The outlook is particularly favorable for patients who reach EFS24, which supports limited relapse-oriented clinical follow-up., De två första författarna delar förstaförfattarskapet.

PURPOSE: Estimates of short- and long-term survival for young patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) are of considerable interest. We investigated cHL prognosis in the era of contemporary treatment at different milestones during the follow-up.PATIENTS AND METHODS: On the basis of a Nordic cohort of 2,582 patients diagnosed at ages 18 to 49 years between 2000 and 2013, 5-year relapse risks and 5-year restricted losses in expectation of lifetime were estimated for all patients and for patients who achieved event-free survival (EFS) for 12 (EFS12), 24 (EFS24), 36 (EFS36) or 60 (EFS60) months. The median follow-up time was 9 years (range, 2.9 to 16.8 years).RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival was 95% (95% CI, 94% to 96%). The 5-year risk of relapse was 13.4% (95% CI, 12.1% to 14.8%) overall but decreased to 4.2% (95% CI, 3.8% to 4.6%) given that patients reached EFS24. Relapse risk for patients treated with six to eight courses of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP) was comparable to that of patients treated with six to eight courses of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) despite more adverse risk criteria among patients treated with BEACOPP. Both from diagnosis and if EFS24 was reached, the losses in expectation of lifetime during the following 5 years were small (from diagnosis, 45 days [95% CI, 35 to 54 days] and for patients who reached EFS24, 13 days [95% CI, 7 to 20 days]). In stage-stratified analyses of 5-year restricted loss in expectation of lifetime, patients with stages I to IIA disease had no noteworthy excess risk of death after they reached EFS24, whereas risk remained measurable for patients with stages IIB to IV cHL.CONCLUSION: Real-world data on young patients with cHL from the Nordic countries show excellent outcomes. The outlook is particularly favorable for patients who reach EFS24, which supports limited relapse-oriented clini