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Arjan Diepstra
dr.

As a hematopathologist, I work on diagnostics of all types of hematological malignancies using a comprehensive panel of different techniques. Moreover, my main research interest involves Hodgkin lymphoma, with a strong focus on interactions between tumor cells and the microenvironment. In addition, I also have a long standing interest in genetic susceptibility. My areas of expertise are: immunology, tumor cell biology, genetic association studies and molecular diagnostics in pathology. I actively participate in international (EORTC) and national (HOVON) clinical trials.

RAS testing in metastatic colorectal cancer: excellent reproducibility amongst 17 Dutch pathology centers
Published in: Oncotarget
In 2013 the European Medicine Agency (EMA) restricted the indication for anti-EGFR targeted therapy to metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with a wild-type RAS gene, increasing the need for reliable RAS mutation testing. We evaluated the completeness and reproducibility of RAS-testing in the Netherlands. From 17 laboratories, tumor DNA of the first 10 CRC cases tested in 2014 in routine clinical practice was re-tested by a reference laboratory using a custom next generation sequencing panel. In total, 171 CRC cases were re-evaluated for hotspot mutations in KRAS, NRAS and...
Annemarie Boleij, Bastiaan B. J. Tops, Paul D. M. Rombout, Elizabeth M. Dequeker, Marjolijn J. L. Ligtenberg, J. Han van Krieken, Dutch RAS EQA Initiative
Long noncoding RNAs as a novel component of the Myc transcriptional network
Published in: The FASEB Journal
Myc is a well-known transcription factor with important roles in cell cycle, apoptosis, and cellular transformation. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently emerged as an important class of regulatory RNAs. Here, we show that lncRNAs are a main component of the Myc-regulated transcriptional program using the P493-6 tetracycline-repressible myc model. We demonstrate that both Myc-induced mRNAs and lncRNAs are significantly enriched for Myc binding sites. In contrast to Myc-repressed mRNAs, Myc-repressed lncRNAs are significantly enriched for Myc binding sites. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that compared to mRNAs, lncRNAs...
Melanie Winkle, Anke van den Berg, Masoumeh Tayari, Jantine Sietzema, Martijn Terpstra, Gertrud Kortman, Debora de Jong, Lydia Visser, Arjan Diepstra, Klaas Kok, Joost Kluiver
CD57+ T-cells are a subpopulation of T-follicular helper cells in nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma
Published in: Experimental Hematology & Oncology
BACKGROUND: Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is characterized by lymphocyte-predominant (LP) cells in a background of CD4+ CD57+ T-cells. These cells are normally present in the germinal center of lymphoid tissues. The cells rosetting LP cells are described to be PD-1 and BCL-6 positive, which are markers of T-follicular helper cells. This study was designed to address the question: are the CD57+ T cells in germinal centers of tonsil and NLPHL TFH cells? RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry was performed on tonsil and NLPHL. For tonsil, cells per germinal center...
Ahmad Sattarzadeh, Arjan Diepstra, Bea Rutgers, Anke van den Berg, Lydia Visser
Meta-Analysis of Hodgkin Lymphoma and Asthma Genome-Wide Association Scans reveals common variants in GATA3
Yinfei Kong, Pouya Khankhanian, Daniel Himmelstein, Amie E. Hwang, Kristin A. Rand, Dalin Li, David J. Van Den Berg, Arjan Diepstra, David V. Conti, Smita Bhatia, Pierre-Antoine Gourraud, Sally L. Glaser, Thomas M. Mack, Jorge Oksenberg, Kenan Onel, Anke Van Den Berg, Ruth F. Jarrett, James D. Mckay, Henrik Hjalgrim, Sergio BaranziniFrank D. Gilliland, W. James Gauderman, Wendy Cozen
Genetic Associations in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Systematic Review and Insights into Susceptibility Mechanisms
Published in: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Both targeted and genome-wide studies have revealed genetic associations for susceptibility, prognosis, and treatment-induced secondary malignancies and toxicities in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). This review gives a systematic and comprehensive overview of significant associations and places them into a biologic context. The strongest susceptibility polymorphisms have been found for the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. These associations are specific for cHL overall or for subgroups based on tumor cell Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status. These findings strongly suggest that EBV-specific immune responses influence cHL susceptibility in EBV+ cHL and...