It is possible to detect Hodgkin lymphoma early by using a simple blood test. This test identifies highly elevated levels of the specific protein TARC, that is secreted by Hodgkin’s tumour cells. In fact, an increased amount of TARC protein can be detected three to six years prior to  diagnosis. This novel finding was revealed by research led by hematopathologist Arjan Diepstra in collaboration with Wouter Plattel, Anke van den Berg and Lydia Visser. It indicates that Hodgkin lymphoma is a relatively slow-growing tumour that often exists for a long time before symptoms appear. For more information read here, the full paper can be found here. A recent interview related to this publication can be found here.

After several successful initial collaborations (PMID: 35454765, PMID: 37705050 , PMID: 29514783, PMID: 36208568) with the group of Hematologist Joost Vermaat  at the LUMC we started an official collaboration in October 2023. This collaboration was officially named ALLEGRO (Alliance for Lymphoma Research LEiden- GROningen). The goal of the collaborative effort is to join forces and together enhance quality of our translational research projects focusing on various lymphoma subtypes.

On the 5th of July 2023 Dr Xing Zhao has received her PhD degree after succesfully defending her thesis titled “Circular RNAs in the pathogenesis of cancer; Are the interactions with miRNAs relevant?”. Her team of supervisors consisted of Dr. Joost Kluiver, Prof. Jianzhen Xu (Shantou University Medical College) and Prof Anke van den Berg.

On June 23rd Dr Myra Langedonk received her PhD degree after defending her thesis titled “BH3 profiling to optimize lymphoma treatment”. Myra was guided by a team consisting of Dr Lydia Visser, Dr. Tom van Meerten, Prof Gerwin Huls and Prof Anke van den Berg. As a next step in her career, Myra is now working as a Medical Writer at QPS Netherlands.

PhD candidate Johanna Bult presented on “Outcome of transformed marginal zone lymphoma (tMZL)” at the 2023 Dutch Hematology Congress. Her work on tMZL has also been published in Blood Cancer Journal, read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41408-023-00903-w.

Dr Yichen Liu received her PhD degree on March 28th after defending her thesis “The MYC/miR-150/MYB/ZDHHC11 network in B-cell lymphoma”. Yichen worked in a team guided by Dr. Lotteke Ziel-Swier, Dr. Joost Kluiver and Prof Anke van den Berg. Yichen will continue her career as a medical doctor in China.

Dr. Peijia Jiang received his PhD on the 23rd of December after defending his thesis “Human leukocyte antigen-related susceptibility mechanisms in Hodgkin lymphoma”. Peijia worked in a team guided by Dr. Arjan Diepstra and Prof. Anke van den Berg in collaboration with dr. Ilja Nolte (Department of Epidemiology) and dr. Bauke Hepkema (Department of Laboratory Medicine).

Dr. Johanna Veldman received her PhD after defending her thesis “The interplay between CD4 T cells and tumor cells in Hodgkin lymphoma”.  Johanna worked in a team guided by Dr. Lydia Visser, Dr. Arjan Diepstra and Prof. Anke van den Berg. In December 2021, She now works in the lab of  Daniel Peeper at the Netherlands Cancer Institute as a Postdoctoral fellow trying to better understand the crosstalk between T cells and tumor cells to find rationale treatment strategies.

Dr. Geok Wee Tan received her PhD after defending her thesis “Epstein-Barr virus-associated malignancies”.  Dr. Tan who worked in a team guided by former lab member Dr. Lu Ping Tan who has her own lab in the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dr. Arjan Diepstra and Prof. Anke van den Berg. She will continue her scientific career in Malyasia.

“ON THE ROAD TO EXCELLENCE IN UNRAVELLING THE (EPI)GENETIC LANDSCAPE OF HEMATOLOGIC NEOPLASMS” (http://www.nextlevel-h2020.eu/), a consortium between the Institute of Human Genetics (Poznań, Maciej Giefing), UGhent (Pieter van de Vlierberge), UULM (Reiner Siebert) and the LRG of the UMCG (Anke van den Berg, Lydia Visser en Joost Kluiver)