Hodgkin lymphoma detection and survival: findings from the Haematological Malignancy Research Network

Steroid prescribing in primary care increases prior to Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis: A UK nationwide case-control study

BACKGROUND

Steroid use is associated with increased risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). However, allergic symptoms commonly treated with steroids are also presenting features of HL in some patients, thereby introducing protopathic bias in estimates of aetiological associations. It is therefore important to examine steroid prescribing patterns pre-diagnosis to understand timing of associations and when healthcare use increases before cancer diagnosis to inform future epidemiological study design.

METHODS

We analysed steroid prescribing in 1232 HL patients and 7392 matched controls using primary care electronic health records (Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), 1987-2016). Using Poisson regression, we calculated monthly steroid prescribing rates for the 24-months preceding HL diagnosis, identifying the inflection point when they start to increase from baseline in cases, comparing rates with synchronous controls, and stratifying by route-of-administration and allergic disease status.

RESULTS

46 % of HL patients had a steroid prescription in the 24-months preceding diagnosis compared to 26 % of controls (OR 2.55, 95 %CI 2.25-2.89, p < 0.001). Odds of underlying HL were greatest in patients receiving multiple steroid prescriptions, oral steroids and in patients with a new allergic disease diagnosis. Among HL patients, steroid prescribing rates increased progressively from 7-months pre-diagnosis, doubling from 52 to 111 prescriptions/1000 patients/month.

CONCLUSION

Steroid prescribing increases during periods leading up to HL diagnosis, suggesting steroid-treated symptoms may be early presenting features of HL. A diagnostic window of appreciable length exists for potential earlier HL diagnosis in some patients; this 7-month 'lag-period' pre-diagnosis should be excluded in studies examining aetiological associations between steroids and HL.

Inflammatory marker testing in primary care in the year before Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis: a UK population-based case-control study in patients aged ≤50 years

BACKGROUND

Proinflammatory conditions are associated with increased risk of Hodgkin lymphoma, although the neoplastic process per se often induces an inflammatory response.

AIM

To examine pre-diagnostic inflammatory marker test use to identify changes that may define a 'diagnostic window' for potential earlier diagnosis.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This was a matched case-control study in UK primary care using Clinical Practice Research Datalink data (2002-2016).

METHOD

Primary care inflammatory marker test use and related findings were analysed in 839 Hodgkin lymphoma patients and 5035 controls in the year pre-diagnosis. Poisson regression models were used to calculate monthly testing rates to examine changes over time in test use. Longitudinal trends in test results and the presence/absence of 'red-flag' symptoms were examined.

RESULTS

In patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, 70.8% (594/839) had an inflammatory marker test in the year pre-diagnosis versus 16.2% (816/5035) of controls (odds ratio 13.7, 95% CI = 11.4 to 16.5, P<0.001). The rate of inflammatory marker testing and mean levels of certain inflammatory marker results increased progressively during the year pre-diagnosis in Hodgkin lymphoma patients while remaining stable in controls. Among patients with Hodgkin lymphoma with a pre-diagnostic test, two-thirds (69.5%, 413/594) had an abnormal result and, among these, 42.6% (176/413) had no other 'red-flag' presenting symptom/sign.

CONCLUSION

Increases in inflammatory marker requests and abnormal results occur in many patients with Hodgkin lymphoma several months pre-diagnosis, suggesting this period should be excluded in aetiological studies examining inflammation in Hodgkin lymphoma development, and that a diagnostic time window of appreciable length exists in many patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, many of whom have no other red-flag features.

Morbidity and measures of the diagnostic process in primary care for patients subsequently diagnosed with cancer

BACKGROUND

There is uncertainty regarding how pre-existing conditions (morbidities) may influence the primary care investigation and management of individuals subsequently diagnosed with cancer.

METHODS

We identified morbidities using information from both primary and secondary care records among 11,716 patients included in the English National Cancer Diagnosis Audit (NCDA) 2014. We examined variation in 5 measures of the diagnostic process (the primary care interval, diagnostic interval, number of pre-referral consultations, use of primary care-led investigations, and referral type) by both primary care- and hospital records-derived measures of morbidity.

RESULTS

Morbidity prevalence recorded before cancer diagnosis was almost threefold greater using the primary care (75%) vs secondary care-derived measure (28%). After adjustment, there was limited variation in the primary care interval and the number of pre-referral consultations by either definition of morbidity. Patients with more severe morbidities were less likely to have had a primary care-led investigation before cancer diagnosis compared with those without any morbidity (adjusted odds ratio, OR [95% confidence interval]: 0.72 [0.60-0.86] for Charlson score 3+ vs 0; joint P < 0.001). Patients with multiple primary care-recorded conditions or a Charlson score of 3+ were more likely to have diagnostic intervals exceeding 60 days (aOR: 1.26 [1.10-1.45] and 1.19 [>1.00-1.41], respectively), and more likely to receive an emergency referral (aOR: 1.60 [1.26-2.02] and 1.61 [1.26-2.06], respectively).

CONCLUSION

Among cancer cases with up to 2 morbidities, there was no evidence of differences in diagnostic processes and intervals in primary care but higher morbidity burden was associated with longer time to diagnosis and higher likelihood of emergency referral.

Nanomedicine as a magic bullet for combating lymphoma

Hematological malignancy like lymphoma originates in lymph tissues and has a propensity to spread across other organs. Managing such tumors is challenging as conventional strategies like surgery and local treatment are not plausible options and there are high chances of relapse. The advent of novel targeted therapies and antibody-mediated treatments has proven revolutionary in the management of these tumors. Although these therapies have an added advantage of specificity in comparison to the traditional chemotherapy approach, such treatment alternatives suffer from the occurrence of drug resistance and dose-related toxicities. In past decades, nanomedicine has emerged as an excellent surrogate to increase the bioavailability of therapeutic moieties along with a reduction in toxicities of highly cytotoxic drugs. Nanotherapeutics achieve targeted delivery of the therapeutic agents into the malignant cells and also have the ability to carry genes and therapeutic proteins to the desired sites. Furthermore, nanomedicine has an edge in rendering personalized medicine as one type of lymphoma is pathologically different from others. In this review, we have highlighted various applications of nanotechnology-based delivery systems based on lipidic, polymeric and inorganic nanomaterials that address different targets for effectively tackling lymphomas. Moreover, we have discussed recent advances and therapies available exclusively for managing this malignancy.

Development of an Electrochemical CCL17/TARC Biosensor toward Rapid Triage and Monitoring of Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma

A point-of-care blood test for the detection of an emerging biomarker, CCL17/TARC, could prove transformative for the clinical management of classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Primary care diagnosis is challenging due to nonspecific clinical presentation and lack of a diagnostic test, leading to significant diagnostic delays. Treatment monitoring encounters false-positive and negative results, leading to avoidable chemotherapy toxicity, or undertreatment, impacting patient morbidity and mortality. Here, we present an amperometric CCL17/TARC immunosensor, based on the utilization of a thiolated heterobifunctional cross-linker and sandwich antibody assay, to facilitate novel primary care triage and chemotherapy monitoring strategies for cHL. The immunosensor shows excellent analytical performance for clinical testing; linearity (R² = 0.986), detection limit (194 pg/mL), and lower and upper limits of quantitation (387-50 000 pg/mL). The biosensor differentiated all 42 newly diagnosed cHL patients from healthy volunteers, based on serum CCL17/TARC concentration, using blood samples collected prior to treatment intervention. The immunosensor also discriminated between paired blood samples of all seven cHL patients, respectively, collected prior to treatment and during chemotherapy, attributed to the decrease in serum CCL17/TARC concentration following chemotherapy response. Overall, we have shown, for the first time, the potential of an electrochemical CCL17/TARC biosensor for primary care triage and chemotherapy monitoring for cHL, which would have positive clinical and psychosocial implications for patients, while streamlining current healthcare pathways.

Health impact of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL): findings from a UK population-based cohort

OBJECTIVE

To examine mortality and morbidity patterns before and after premalignancy diagnosis in individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) and compare their secondary healthcare activity to that of the general population.

DESIGN

Population-based patient cohort, within which each patient is matched at diagnosis to 10 age-matched and sex-matched individuals from the general population. Both cohorts are linked to nationwide information on deaths, cancer registrations and Hospital Episode Statistics.

SETTING

The UK's Haematological Malignancy Research Network, which has a catchment population of around 4 million served by 14 hospitals and a central diagnostic laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

All patients newly diagnosed during 2009-2015 with MGUS (n=2193) or MBL (n=561) and their age and sex-matched comparators (n=27 538).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Mortality and hospital inpatient and outpatient activity in the 5 years before and 3 years after diagnosis.

RESULTS

Individuals with MGUS experienced excess morbidity in the 5 years before diagnosis and excess mortality and morbidity in the 3 years after diagnosis. Increased rate ratios (RRs) were evident for nearly all clinical specialties, the largest, both before and after diagnosis, being for nephrology (before RR=4.29, 95% CI 3.90 to 4.71; after RR=13.8, 95% CI 12.8 to 15.0) and rheumatology (before RR=3.40, 95% CI 3.18 to 3.63; after RR=5.44, 95% CI 5.08 to 5.83). Strong effects were also evident for endocrinology, neurology, dermatology and respiratory medicine. Conversely, only marginal increases in mortality and morbidity were evident for MBL.

CONCLUSIONS

MGUS and MBL are generally considered to be relatively benign, since most individuals with monoclonal immunoglobulins never develop a B-cell malignancy or any other monoclonal protein-related organ/tissue-related disorder. Nonetheless, our findings offer strong support for the view that in some individuals, monoclonal gammopathy has the potential to cause systemic disease resulting in wide-ranging organ/tissue damage and excess mortality.