Deciphering the heterogeneity of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit

A team of researchers from IDIPHISA–Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, led by Marina Pérez-Aguilera and Lucía Pedrosa from the Lymphoma Research Group headed by Margarita Sánchez-Beato, has published a new study in collaboration with the CBM-CSIC/UAM.

In this study, 29 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell lines were analysed — the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer originating in B lymphocytes, cells of the immune system. Not all patients present the same alterations, which makes classification and treatment difficult.

The researchers combined different techniques to study DNA alterations in order to characterise these experimental models. The results, published in the journal Hematological Oncology, show how the integration of genetic and transcriptomic data makes it possible to improve tumour type classification, confirming the robustness of previous work carried out by the group (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80376-0).

As part of this study, the team has developed an interactive application, DLBCL Cell Line Explorer (https://lymphomaresearchgroup-idiphisa.shinyapps.io/LymphomaCellLines/) that makes it possible to compare the characteristics of these cell lines, making it easier to select the most suitable model for lymphoma research.

This work was funded by the ISCIII and the AEI. You can view the article at https://doi.org/10.1002/hon.70228