Damon Runyon Researchers

Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive lymphoma in adults.  Unfortunately, current therapies typically fail in nearly half of these patients. Dr. Alizadeh proposes a novel treatment strategy for this disease: to characterize and isolate premalignant stem cells before they transform into cancer cells. He has found that expression of a single oncogene called BCL6 is capable of reprogramming these cells from normal cells to aggressive malignant cells. He aims to define the specific genetic alterations that can give rise to this cell reprogramming. This research will be important both for understanding cancer biology, as well as for developing more effective means for treatment of lymphoma patients.