Dr. Lauren Weinand

Lymphoma is a common cancer that includes Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), among others. Excisional lymph node biopsy, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization are used to diagnose and classify lymphoma. However, invasive biopsies have significant limitations and risks, and they do not take into account differences between and within tumors because they only take a sample from...

There is insufficient data to address the incidence rate and risk factors for secondary lung cancer among Hodgkin lymphoma survivors. In this study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology for the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, data from a cohort of Hodgkin lymphoma patients diagnosed between 1973 and 2015 were investigated using the Surveillance Epidemiology and End...

Patients who receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy or allogeneic stem cell transplants (allo-SCT) often exhibit some form of immunosuppression as a result of their treatment or transplant. In the era of COVID-19, severe disease has emerged as a grave concern in high-risk CAR T-cell therapy and allo-SCT patients who may have weakened immune...

CAR T-cell therapy has gained attention as an increasingly promising cellular therapy. However, while CAR T-cells are highly targeted and effective treatments for certain cancers, they often face mounting obstacles from the tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumors release different immune-suppressing molecules and disrupt the activity of CAR T-cells and other tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Another factor to...

The goal of treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in children is similar to that of adults: cure the disease without causing long-term complications. Brentuximab vedotin (Bv) is a CD30-directed antibody-drug conjugate approved for adults with advanced HL. However, studies have found that Bv may also be a safe and effective treatment for children and adolescents with...

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare but treatable disease that is curable in around 75% of affected patients. Although the survival of HL has been improved through available treatment options, treatment modalities may cause adverse events and comorbidities that are of particular concern. The cornerstone of therapy for HL includes chemotherapy in combination with radiation...

Pneumocystis jiroveci (PJP) is a severe, opportunistic infection that remains a potential burden in patients who are immunocompromised. Patients who undergo treatment with brentuximab vedotin (BV) may be at risk for this infection due to the CD30-targeted effects of the drug antibody conjugate. Thus, PJP prophylaxis may need to be considered. However, few studies have...

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) affects approximately 8,500 new patients each year, and the initial remission rate is over 80%. Previous studies have shown that brentuximab vedotin (BV) and nivolumab (Nivo) are well-tolerated and effective in treating relapsed or refractory (R/R) CHL, but no real-world data are available for this combination of treatments. This study, published...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) block checkpoint proteins from binding with partner proteins, allowing T cells to kill cancer cells. They are safe and effective in treating multiple cancer types, including relapsed or refractory (R/R) classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL).  This study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology for the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, sought to gather long-term...