Lymphoma Research

As our researchers initiate and collaborate on new discoveries, our medical care team implements them in real-world settings — meaning, as a Winship patient you get access to new therapies and treatments not available elsewhere. For us, research isn’t only about discoveries in the lab. It’s about using those discoveries to deliver better outcomes.

Lymphoma researchers at Winship are investigating ways to:

• Screen for various types of lymphoma, including Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Understand risk factors for lymphoma
• Identify biological markers for lymphoma
• Improve the precision of lymphoma diagnostics
• Mitigate complications and side effects of lymphoma treatment
• Increase survival rates for lymphoma
• Decrease recurrence rates for lymphoma

Winship researchers are also collaborating on a first-of-its-kind study designed, in part, to determine how better to understand the health needs of people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma — the more common of the two main types of lymphoma, and one of the most common cancers in the United States. The Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) study is a cohort study funded by the National Cancer Institute involving eight cancer centers across the nation. As part of the study, researchers are examining biological markers that may be associated with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as specific subtypes of lymphoma.

The goals of LEO are to:

• Create a registry of newly diagnosed lymphoma patients
• Develop a biospecimen bank to examine biological markers of lymphoma
• Follow patients over time to determine possible causes of lymphoma and optimal treatments for the disease
• Examine the long-term impact on all aspects of a patient’s life after completing treatments for lymphoma

Find better ways to improve the length and quality of life for people living with lymphoma

Following are results of recent lymphoma research conducted and led by our team of Winship researchers:

• Reduced antibody response to COVID booster vaccination
  Winship researchers, led by Andres Chang, MD, found that patients with lymphoid malignancies, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, have reduced or impaired antibody responses after receiving the booster dose of the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 when compared to healthy patients. The findings indicate a potential vulnerability to breakthrough infections and severe disease. Read publication.
• Treatment outcomes with venetoclax in patients with relapsed mantle cell lymphoma
  A study conducted at centers across the country and led by Jonathan Cohen, MD, MS, found that venetoclax, an oral therapy used in treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, may have a better role in earlier lines of treatment and/or in combination with other drugs for treating patients with relapsed mantle cell lymphoma, a rare subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, who had received several prior therapies. Read publication.
• Using PET/CT to detect bone marrow involvement and early outcomes in marginal zone lymphoma
  A study led by Jean Koff, MD, analyzing data from the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) cohorts, found the use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has limitations in accurately detecting bone marrow involvement in different subtypes of marginal zone lymphoma, especially in splenic marginal zone lymphoma. Furthermore, the presence of bone marrow involvement was found not to correlate with early events or shorter survival in any marginal zone lymphoma subtype. Read publication.
• Surveillance imaging during first remission in follicular lymphoma
  Patients with follicular lymphoma generally receive routine scans after completing their first treatment to make sure the disease has not returned. A study led by Jonathon Cohen, MD, MS, found that in patients whose disease came back, scans did not show signs of disease in most cases. It was also determined that whether the disease was found by a scan or by a clinician, the patient’s overall survival was not affected. Read publication.
• Pirtobrutinib as treatment for patients with previously treated mantle cell lymphoma
  Early results of a study still underway and led by Jonathon Cohen, MD, MS, analyzing how well and how safe the oral drug pirtobrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, works in patients with mantle cell lymphoma that have received prior treatments and who generally are expected to have a poor outcome. Early results from the study show promising signs for patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have received many prior treatments. Read publication.

Clinical trials are controlled studies that test the newest interventions on a disease. They offer participants early access to treatments that are not yet commercially available. As a research center, our physicians and scientists will make every effort to match you with a clinical trial that targets your unique cancer. It’s best if you enroll from the very beginning, so let your doctor know on your first visit if you’re interested in learning more about a clinical trial. Most clinical trials are supplemental, meaning you’ll still receive the standard therapy in addition to any treatment being studied.

As a Winship lymphoma patient, you may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial. Your medical care team can match you with a clinical trial that fits your unique cancer. Many clinical trials work in conjunction with your standard therapy, so you may not have to choose one treatment over another. Additional studies at Winship may not deal directly with your treatment but may investigate your response to treatments, vaccines, quality of life or your cancer’s biology. If you think that joining a clinical trial at Winship might be right for you, talk to your doctors about how to participate.

Winship leads lymphoma research at the following locations:

• Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Clifton Campus
• Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown
• Winship at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital
• Emory Proton Therapy Center
• Grady Memorial Hospital 

Occasionally, lymphoma clinical research can be conducted in collaboration with your local physician, through electronic/virtual communications, and/or at other Winship sites. If you are interested in participating in research be sure to discuss potential ways to accommodate participation even if you are located at a distance from any of our locations. We welcome trial participants from all over Georgia and throughout the Southeast. Talk with your doctor about whether you are eligible to participate in a clinical trial.

Our supportive oncology team can assist you with services, such as finding affordable accommodations near Winship for the duration of your clinical trial.

The Georgia Blood Cancer Network, with support from a grant from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, brings blood cancer clinical trials to more diverse and widespread populations of patients across Georgia. It does this by making innovative, investigational therapies and treatments more accessible to patients with blood cancer who reside outside of metropolitan Atlanta. This includes Georgia’s rural areas where higher poverty rates and longer travel distances make clinical trial participation more difficult.

The Georgia Blood Cancer Trials Network conducts trials at multiple Winship locations including Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Winship at Emory Midtown and Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital campuses, along with community-based systems in Atlanta and throughout the state.

Ready to learn more? Contact our clinical research coordinator via email or call 404-251-0482.