Genetic Associations in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Systematic Review and Insights into Susceptibility Mechanisms.

[hodgkin lymphoma, classical]

Both targeted and genome-wide studies have revealed genetic associations for susceptibility , prognosis , and treatment-induced secondary malignancies and toxicities in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL ). This review gives a systematic and comprehensive overview of significant associations and places them into a biologic context . The strongest susceptibility polymorphisms have been found for the human leukocyte antigen (HLA ) genes . These associations are specific for cHL overall or for subgroups based on tumor cell Epstein-Barr virus (EBV ) status . These findings strongly suggest that EBV-specific immune responses influence cHL susceptibility in EBV (+) cHL and that immune responses targeting other tumor -associated antigens are important in EBV (-) cHL . Accordingly , most of the numerous other susceptibility loci map to genes that affect functionality of the immune system , underscoring the crucial role of the immune system in cHL development . The number of association studies on cHL prognosis is limited with one consistent association for the drug-metabolizing UGT 1 A 1 gene . PRDM 1 is associated with radiation-induced secondary malignancies and a small number of genes are associated with treatment-related toxicities . In conclusion , most loci showing genetic associations in cHL harbor genes with a potential functional relevance for cHL susceptibility . Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev ; 23 (12 ); 1 -11 . ©2014 AACR .