
Experimental oncology
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

The research activity of the Unit aims at translating basic biological and molecular findings to the clinical arena, to the advantage of patients affected by Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).
Research activity
In particular, our Unit works towards the validation and application of novel prognostic and predictive markers that can improve the management of our patients and allow the selection of more tailored therapies when needed. In addition, we design and participate in innovative clinical trials testing novel chemo-free therapeutic approaches, from the initial stages of development (phase 1) to the final validation before the introduction in the general practice (phase 3).
Finally, we are greatly involved in educational activities of the medical community with the aim of disseminating the best practice in terms of molecular stratification of patients, selection of personalized treatments and management of adverse reactions with the final goal of achieving more prolonged responses and higher quality of life.
Robak T, Burger JA, Tedeschi A, Barr PM, Owen C, Bairey O, Hillmen P, Simpson D, Grosicki S, Devereux S, McCarthy H, Coutre SE, Quach H, Gaidano G, Maslyak Z, Stevens DA, Moreno C, Gill DS, Flinn IW, Gribben JG, Mokatrin A, Cheng M, Styles L, James DF, Kipps TJ, Ghia P. Single-agent ibrutinib versus chemoimmunotherapy regimens for treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A cross-trial comparison of phase 3 studies, Am J Hematol. 2018 Aug 20.
Primo D, Scarfò L, Xochelli A, Mattsson M, Ranghetti P, Espinosa AB, Robles A, Gorrochategui J, Martínez-López J, de la Serna J, González M, Gil AC, Anguita E, Iraheta S, Munugalavadla V, Quéva C, Tannheimer S, Rosenquist R, Stamatopoulos K, Ballesteros J, Ghia P. A novel ex vivo high-throughput assay reveals antiproliferative effects of idelalisib and ibrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Oncotarget. 2018 May 25;9(40):26019-26031.
Barr PM, Robak T, Owen C, Tedeschi A, Bairey O, Bartlett NL, Burger JA, Hillmen P, Coutre S, Devereux S, Grosicki S, McCarthy H, Li J, Simpson D, Offner F, Moreno C, Zhou C, Styles L, James D, Kipps TJ, Ghia P. Sustained efficacy and detailed clinical follow-up of first-line ibrutinib treatment in older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: extended phase 3 results from RESONATE-2. Haematologica. 2018 Jun 7. pii: haematol.2018.192328.
Ghia P, Rawstron A. Minimal residual disease analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a way for achieving more personalized treatments Leukemia. 2018 Jun;32(6):1307-1316.
Cuneo A, Follows G, Rigolin GM, Piciocchi A, Tedeschi A, Trentin L, Medina Perez A, Coscia M, Laurenti L, Musuraca G, Farina L, Rivas Delgado A, Orlandi EM, Galieni P, Mauro FR, Visco C, Amendola A, Billio A, Marasca R, Chiarenza A, Meneghini V, Ilariucci F, Marchetti M, Molica S, Re F, Gaidano G, Gonzalez M, Forconi F, Ciolli S, Cortelezzi A, Montillo M, Smolej L, Schuh A, Eyre TA, Kennedy B, Bowles KM, Vignetti M, de la Serna J, Moreno C, Foà R, Ghia P. Efficacy of bendamustine and rituximab as first salvage treatment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indirect comparison with ibrutinib: a GIMEMA, ERIC and UK CLL FORUM study. Haematologica. 2018 Apr 19. pii: haematol.2018.189837.
Malcikova J, Tausch E, Rossi D, Sutton LA, Soussi T, Zenz T, Kater AP, Niemann CU, Gonzalez D, Davi F, Gonzalez Diaz M, Moreno C, Gaidano G, Stamatopoulos K, Rosenquist R, Stilgenbauer S, Ghia P, Pospisilova S; European Research Initiative on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (ERIC) — TP53 network. ERIC recommendations for TP53 mutation analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia-update on methodological approaches and results interpretation. Leukemia. 2018 Feb 2.
Rosenquist R, Ghia P, Hadzidimitriou A, Sutton LA, Agathangelidis A, Baliakas P, Darzentas N, Giudicelli V, Lefranc MP, Langerak AW, Belessi C, Davi F, Stamatopoulos K. Immunoglobulin gene sequence analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: updated ERIC recommendations. Leukemia. 2017 Jul;31(7):1477-1481.
Ghia P, Scarfò L, Perez S, Pathiraja K, Derosier M, Small K, McCrary Sisk C, Patton N. Efficacy and safety of dinaciclib vs ofatumumab in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood. 2017 Mar 30;129(13):1876-1878.
Byrd JC, Harrington B, O'Brien S, Jones JA, Schuh A, Devereux S, Chaves J, Wierda WG, Awan FT, Brown JR, Hillmen P, Stephens DM, Ghia P, Barrientos JC, Pagel JM, Woyach J, Johnson D, Huang J, Wang X, Kaptein A, Lannutti BJ, Covey T, Fardis M, McGreivy J, Hamdy A, Rothbaum W, Izumi R, Diacovo TG, Johnson AJ, Furman RR. Acalabrutinib (ACP-196) in Relapsed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2016 Jan 28;374(4):323-32
Rawstron AC, Fazi C, Agathangelidis A, Villamor N, Letestu R, Nomdedeu J, Palacio C, Stehlikova O, Kreuzer KA, Liptrot S, O'Brien D, de Tute RM, Marinov I, Hauwel M, Spacek M, Dobber J, Kater AP, Gambell P, Soosapilla A, Lozanski G, Brachtl G, Lin K, Boysen J, Hanson C, Jorgensen JL, Stetler-Stevenson M, Yuan C, Broome HE, Rassenti L, Craig F, Delgado J, Moreno C, Bosch F, Egle A, Doubek M, Pospisilova S, Mulligan S, Westerman D, Sanders CM, Emerson R, Robins HS, Kirsch I, Shanafelt T, Pettitt A, Kipps TJ, Wierda WG, Cymbalista F, Hallek M, Hillmen P, Montserrat E, Ghia P. A complementary role of multiparameter flow-cytometry and high-throughput sequencing for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): An european research initiative on CLL (ERIC) study. Leukemia. 2016 Apr;30(4):929-36.