Through a bedside-to-bench-and-back approach, our translational lab, tightly integrated with the clinical activity of the Lymphoid Malignancies and Cancer Therapeutics Unit of the hospital, investigates the cellular mechanisms involved in relapsed and refractory lymphoma with the aim of better predicting disease evolution and improving treatments response.
Main research areas
Signatures of response to immunotherapy in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Novel immunotherapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell and bispecific antibodies, became available over the past five years for relapsed and refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. On average, 50% of patients with relapsed and refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma fail to respond to these novel forms of immunotherapies, thus representing an unmet medical need. To address these issues, we started a translational project based on a personalized multi-omics approach to identify biomarkers for disease response and resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy.
Liquid biopsy for disease outcome prediction and monitoring by circulating tumor DNA
Approaches for staging and response evaluation in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) rely upon serial imaging assessments, using positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans. However, conventional imaging has suboptimal positive and negative predictive values. The use of cell-free fragments of tumor DNA that are shed into the bloodstream from tumor cells and can be easily and repeatedly obtained is emerging as an easy-to-obtain material assessing somatic cancer mutations. We hypothesize that high-throughput sequencing of circulating tumor (ct)DNA to analyze mutational heterogeneity, as well as genomic evolution (mutNGS), may represent an attractive tool to predict disease outcome, monitor disease response and minimal residual disease, identify molecular determinants of chemorefractory patients and track clonal evolution-driven resistance to checkpoint inhibitors.
Selected publications
Crisafulli LHaematologica
MicroRNA-127-3p controls murine hematopoietic stem cell maintenance by limiting differentiation.
The new refined minnesota risk score for acute graft-versus-host disease predicts overall survival and non-relapse mortality after T cell-replete haploidentical stem cell transplant with post-transplant cyclophosphamide.
Vascular amounts and dispersion of caliber-classified vessels as key parameters to quantitate 3D micro-angioarchitectures in multiple myeloma experimental tumors.
A reduced dose of fluconazole as primary antifungal prophylaxis is not associated with increased risk of invasive fungal infections after allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a HLA identical sibling.
T Cell-Replete Haploidentical Transplantation with Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide for Hodgkin Lymphoma Relapsed after Autologous Transplantation: Reduced Incidence of Relapse and of Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Compared with HLA-Identical Related Donors.
Italian real-life experience with brentuximab vedotin: results of a large observational study of 40 cases of relapsed/refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
Bendamustine in Combination With Gemcitabine and Vinorelbine Is an Effective Regimen As Induction Chemotherapy Before Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation for Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: Final Results of a Multicenter Phase II Study.
Desensitization with plasma exchange in a patient with human leukocyte antigen donor-specific antibodies before T-cell-replete haploidentical transplantation.
High-dose sequential chemotherapy (HDS) versus PEB chemotherapy as first-line treatment of patients with poor prognosis germ-cell tumors: mature results of an Italian randomized phase II study.
BIM upregulation and ROS-dependent necroptosis mediate the antitumor effects of the HDACi Givinostat and Sorafenib in Hodgkin lymphoma cell line xenografts.
Bone marrow compared with peripheral blood stem cells for haploidentical transplantation with a nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide.
Plerixafor ‘on demand’: results of a strategy based on peripheral blood CD34+ cells in lymphoma patients at first or subsequent mobilization with chemotherapy+G-CSF.
Peripheral blood CD34+ cell monitoring after cyclophosphamide and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor: an algorithm for the pre-emptive use of plerixafor.
Long-Term Results of Autologous Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation After High-Dose 90Y-Ibritumomab Tiuxetan for Patients With Poor-Risk Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Not Eligible for High-Dose BEAM.
Perifosine and sorafenib combination induces mitochondrial cell death and antitumor effects in NOD/SCID mice with Hodgkin lymphoma cell line xenografts.
Induction of death receptor 5 expression in tumor vasculature by perifosine restores the vascular disruption activity of TRAIL-expressing CD34(+) cells.
(3)D [corrected] quantification of tumor vasculature in lymphoma xenografts in NOD/SCID mice allows to detect differences among vascular-targeted therapies.
Telomere loss in Philadelphia-negative hematopoiesis after successful treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia: evidence for premature aging of the myeloid compartment.
Detection of minimal residual disease in hematopoietic progenitor cell harvests: lack of predictive value of peripheral blood and bone marrow analysis in mantle cell and indolent lymphoma.
Novel second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac) mimetic compounds sensitize human leukemic cell lines to conventional chemotherapeutic drug-induced and death receptor-mediated apoptosis.
Long-term results of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplant as first salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: a single institution experience.
Human CD34+ cells engineered to express membrane-bound tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand target both tumor cells and tumor vasculature.
Absorbed dose and biologically effective dose in patients with high-risk non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treated with high-activity myeloablative 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin).
Haploidentical stem cell transplantation after a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen for the treatment of advanced hematologic malignancies: posttransplantation CD8-depleted donor lymphocyte infusions contribute to improve T-cell recovery.
Vaccination with autologous tumor-loaded dendritic cells induces clinical and immunologic responses in indolent B-cell lymphoma patients with relapsed and measurable disease: a pilot study.
High-dose yttrium-90-ibritumomab tiuxetan with tandem stem-cell reinfusion: an outpatient preparative regimen for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation.
The effect of artificial antigen-presenting cells with preclustered anti-CD28/-CD3/-LFA-1 monoclonal antibodies on the induction of ex vivo expansion of functional human antitumor T cells.
Long-term lymphoma survivors following high-dose chemotherapy and autograft: evidence of permanent telomere shortening in myeloid cells, associated with marked reduction of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cell reservoir.
The anti-human leukocyte antigen-DR monoclonal antibody 1D09C3 activates the mitochondrial cell death pathway and exerts a potent antitumor activity in lymphoma-bearing nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice.
Marked telomere shortening in mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) following two tightly spaced high-dose chemotherapy courses with G-CSF.
Boosting T cell-mediated immunity to tyrosinase by vaccinia virus-transduced, CD34(+)-derived dendritic cell vaccination: a phase I trial in metastatic melanoma.
Use of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) plus recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) for the mobilization and collection of CD34+ cells in poor mobilizers.
Mobilization of primitive and committed hematopoietic progenitors in nonhuman primates treated with defibrotide and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.
Clinical protocol. Immunization of patients with malignant melanoma with autologous CD34(+) cell-derived dendritic cells transduced ex vivo with a recombinant replication-deficient vaccinia vector encoding the human tyrosinase gene: a phase I trial.
Long-term remission in mantle cell lymphoma following high-dose sequential chemotherapy and in vivo rituximab-purged stem cell autografting (R-HDS regimen).
Defibrotide in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor significantly enhances the mobilization of primitive and committed peripheral blood progenitor cells in mice.
CD34+ cells mobilized by cyclophosphamide and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are functionally different from CD34+ cells mobilized by G-CSF.
Use of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in combination with hydroxyurea as post-transplant therapy in chronic myelogenous leukemia patients autografted with unmanipulated hematopoietic cells.
Selection of myeloid progenitors lacking BCR/ABL mRNA in chronic myelogenous leukemia patients after in vitro treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein.
Oligodeoxynucleotides antisense to c-abl specifically inhibit entry into S-phase of CD34+ hematopoietic cells and their differentiation to granulocyte-macrophage progenitors.
Arachidonic acid induces c-jun gene expression in stromal cells stimulated by interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha: evidence for a tyrosine-kinase-dependent process.
Identification of Philadelphia-negative granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units generated by stroma-adherent cells from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients.
Use of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with lymphoid malignancies transplanted with unpurged or adjusted-dose mafosfamide-purged autologous marrow.
Differential sensitivity of adherent CFU-blast, CFU-mix, BFU-E, and CFU-GM to mafosfamide: implications for adjusted dose purging in autologous bone marrow transplantation.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha modulates the messenger RNA expression of hematopoietic growth factor genes in fresh blast cells from patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia.
Establishment and characterization of a B-cell line derived from a patient with a myelodysplastic syndrome which expresses myelomonocytic and lymphoid markers.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha down-regulates c-myc mRNA expression and induces in vitro monocytic differentiation in fresh blast cells from patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia.
In vitro and in vivo effects of recombinant interferon gamma on the growth of hematopoietic progenitor cells from patients with myelodysplastic syndrome.
Growth of human hematopoietic colonies from patients with myelodysplastic syndromes in response to recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
Recombinant gamma-interferon induces in vitro monocytic differentiation of blast cells from patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
Effects of recombinant alpha and gamma interferons on the in vitro growth of circulating hematopoietic progenitor cells (CFU-GEMM, CFU-Mk, BFU-E, and CFU-GM) from patients with myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.