Prognostic Model to Predict Post-Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation Outcomes in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

PurposeOur aim was to capture the biology of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) at the time of relapse and discover novel and robust biomarkers that predict outcomes after autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT).Materials and MethodsWe performed digital gene expression profiling on a cohort of 245 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor specimens from 174 patients with cHL, including 71 with biopsies taken at both primary diagnosis and relapse, to investigate temporal gene expression differences and associations with post-ASCT outcomes. Relapse biopsies from a training cohort of 65 patients were used to build a gene expression–based prognostic model of post-ASCT outcomes (RHL30), and two independent cohorts were used for validation.ResultsGene expression profiling revealed that 24% of patients exhibited poorly correlated expression patterns between their biopsies taken at initial diagnosis and relapse, indicating biologic divergence. Comparative analysis of the prognostic power of gene expression measur...