Ricerc@Sapienza

Nodular sclerosis classical Hodgkin lymphoma (NSCHL) is a subtype of CHL affecting young adults and manifesting either with a systemic nodal disease or alternatively with a mediastinal mass. Although histologically similar, mediastinal and non-mediastinal NSCHL differ for clinical behaviour and response to polychemotherapy treatment. Mediastinal NSCHL tends to do not spread to other lymph nodes, to have frequent recurrences, and to benefit from a more intensified therapy. Moreover, mediastinal NSCHL exhibits many clinicopathologic and molecular similarities with primary mediastinal diffuse large B cell lymphoma (PMBL), suggesting their origin from a thymic B cell. The lack of comparative analysis between mediastinal and non-mediastinal NSCHL limits our knowledge and the possibility to support the hypothesis that they could represent two different entities.
We propose to apply the integrative approach of RNA-sequencing to a cohort of mediastinal and non-mediastinal NSCHL to identify possible differences non only in terms of the molecular alterations that characterized tumour cells, but also on the non-neoplastic inflammatory background that influences the growth and dissemination of tumour cells. We will indeed integrate genes mutations and translocations with the gene expression profiles to define possible different tumour microenvironmental interactions that could support the definition of mediastinal NSCHL as a clinically and pathogenetically distinct type of CHL. The possible results of our study might provide important bases for the development of more ad hoc therapeutical strategies.