Optimizing checkpoint inhibitors therapy for relapsed or progressive classic Hodgkin lymphoma by multiplex immunohistochemistry of the tumor microenvironment

Abstract

Immune checkpoint-blocking antibodies have therapeutic activity against relapsed or progressive classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), but Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells can develop resistance to this therapy via multiple mechanisms. To improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade, we need a more precise understanding of the immune escape mechanisms active in individual cHL patients, and this requires a detailed characterization of immune cell populations in the tumor microenvironment. These cell-cell interactions can now be studied by multiplex immunohistochemistry coupled to digital image analysis. This method should allow the identification of actionable target molecules mediating resistance..