Man's best friend: what can pet dogs teach us about non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?

Animal models are essential for understanding lymphoma biology and testing new treatments prior to human studies. Spontaneously arising lymphomas in pet dogs represent an underutilized resource that could be used to complement current mouse lymphoma models, which do not adequately represent all aspects of the human disease. Canine lymphoma resembles human lymphoma in many important ways, including characteristic translocations and molecular abnormalities and similar therapeutic responses to chemotherapy, radiation, and newer targeted therapies (e.g. ibrutinib). Given the large number of pet dogs and high incidence of lymphoma, particularly in susceptible breeds, dogs represent a largely untapped resource for advancing the understanding and treatment of human lymphoma. This review highlights similarities in molecular biology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes between human and canine lymphoma. It also describes resources that are currently available to study canine lymphoma, advantages to be gained by exploiting the genetic breed structure in dogs, and current and future challenges and opportunities to take full advantage of this resource for lymphoma studies.

Novel targeted therapies in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Next-generation sequencing techniques have improved our understanding of the molecular pathways that may drive oncogenesis. Many novel classes of drugs are in development that may improve the treatment of DLBCL, either as single agents or in combination, that exploit their synergy to overcome resistance. We review the key novel targets and therapeutics in the treatment of DLBCL, including immunomodulatory agents and immunotherapy.

Novel Pharmacotherapies for B-Cell Lymphomas and Leukemias

Novel pharmacotherapeutic agents were recently approved for treatment of low-grade B-cell neoplasms, and many other agents are under investigation. Several agents have demonstrated impressive activity in targeting malignant B-cell processes and specific pathways, all with the potential to expand our ability to effectively treat B-cell malignancies. The inhibitors of several cell regulatory proteins, including Bruton tyrosine kinase (Btk), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K), B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (Bcl-2), and histone deacetylases, as well as immunomodulatory agents are a few of the many pharmacotherapeutic agents under study. A comprehensive review and assessment is presented of the current pharmacotherapies under investigation targeting B-cell lymphomas and leukemias.

Precision treatment of distinct molecular subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: ascribing treatment based on the molecular phenotype

Although diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, was once considered to be a single disease, novel insights into its biology have revealed that it is molecularly heterogeneous. Technologies such as gene expression profiling have revealed that DLBCL consists of at least three distinct molecular diseases that have disparate outcomes following standard therapy. These subtypes arise from different stages of B-cell differentiation and are characterized by distinct oncogenic activation mechanisms. This knowledge has led to the investigation of strategies and novel agents that have selective activity within molecular subtypes and sets the stage for an era of precision medicine in DLBCL therapeutics, where therapy can be ascribed based on molecular phenotype. This work offers the chance of improving the curability of DLBCL, particularly in the activated B-cell subtype, where standard approaches are inadequate for a high proportion of patients. See all articles in this CCR Focus section, "Paradigm Shifts in Lymphoma."