Paediatric Burkitt lymphoma patient-derived xenografts capture disease characteristics over time and are a model for therapy

• Authors: FORDE S.; MATTHEWS J.D.; JAHANGIRI L.; LEE L.; PROKOPH N.; MALCOLM T.I.; GIGER O.; BELL N.; BLAIR H.; O'MARCAIGH A.; SMITH O.; KENNER L.; BOMKEN S.; BURKE G.A.A.; TURNER Suzanne Dawn
• Year of publication: 2021
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY
• MU Faculty or unit: Central European Institute of Technology
• Web: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjh.17043
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjh.17043
• Keywords: Burkitt lymphomapatient derived xenograftrelapseB-cell lymphomamurine cancer models
• Description: Burkitt lymphoma (BL) accounts for almost two-thirds of all B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) in children and adolescents and is characterised by aMYCtranslocation and rapid cell turnover. Intensive chemotherapeutic regimens have been developed in recent decades, including the lymphomes malins B (LMB) protocol, which have resulted in a survival rate in excess of 90%. Recent clinical trials have focused on immunochemotherapy, with the addition of rituximab to chemotherapeutic backbones, showing encouraging results. Despite these advances, relapse and refractory disease occurs in up to 10% of patients and salvage options for these carry a dismal prognosis. Efforts to better understand the molecular and functional characteristics driving relapse and refractory disease may help improve this prognosis. This study has established a paediatric BL patient-derived xenograft (PDX) resource which captures and maintains tumour heterogeneity, may be used to better characterise tumours and identify cell populations responsible for therapy resistance.