Consortia
Precision Medicine for Aggressive Lymphomas (PMAL)
The Precision Medicine for Aggressive Lymphomas (PMAL) consortium is a national multi-partner network, established to develop robust predictive molecular assays for patients with high grade lymphomas and to optimise their treatment through trials of novel targeted therapy based on the results.
Biopsy samples from patients with lymphoma are studied by genomic, transcriptomic, molecular and immunophenotypic analysis, to establish their precise sub-type and to suggest options for targeted therapy. In parallel, studies of circulating free DNA are used to track actionable somatic mutations and monitor the response to therapy, and sequential biopsies from patients with recurrent disease are analysed to examine clonal emergence and evolution. A network of four laboratories undertakes this work, linked to a portfolio of clinical trials for patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent disease, coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit. Complex bioinformatics analysis is used to refine the classification of the diseases according to detailed biological understanding and its impact on pathological behaviour.
A targeted approach is now being applied in a new Cancer Research UK funded trial of first-line therapy, ACCEPT of which OMDC is leading on sample processing, sequencing & bioinformatic analysis.