Lymphoma is a cancer that affects lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. The disease originates in a lymphoid organ (lymph node, spleen, or bone marrow) before spreading through the blood to infiltrate not only other lymphoid organs but also other tissues. Every year, nearly 2,000 people in Switzerland are diagnosed with lymphoma, a disease that can be very aggressive, resisting standard treatments with chemotherapeutic drugs. Today, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Switerland, give a new hope to patients. Their innovative approach consists in using an antibody able to neutralize a specific protein to block the migration of lymphoma cells, thus preventing the disease from developing. This still experimental immunotherapeutic strategy paves the way for new treatments against lymphoma. The results can be read in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
Source: UniGE