Dr. Gascoyne on Predictive Biomarker Research in Lymphomas

Randy Gascoyne, MD, research director, Centre for Lymphoid Cancers at the BC Cancer Agency, discusses the growth of predictive biomarker research in follicular lymphoma and other malignancies.

Pertaining to follicular lymphoma, Gascoyne says there will be a significant growth in predictive biomarker research. However, he advises researchers should move away from producing articles that focus on prognostic markers. Though this can be helpful in understanding the biology of a disease, Gascoyne says it is not hugely important to determine if a marker is prognostic. Researchers should focus on identifying predictive markers, which will inform them of possible therapies in upfront or relapse settings.

Gascoyne says this focus will likely expand to other lymphomas, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. CD30 is an example of a predictive biomarker, he says, which is being used in settings in anaplastic large cell lymphoma and other T cell lymphomas to inform a treatment choice.