The past decade has seen progressive advances in our understanding of both follicular lymphoma (FL) pathogenesis and normal germinal center B cell biology, underscoring key roles for epigenetic control and complex interplay with the microenvironment. This increased understanding along with rapid improvement in technologies for multi-omic analyses such as single cell and spatial approaches make it an opportune time to re-visit biomarker development in FL, moving toward defining a cure for FL.
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research in collaboration with the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation (FLF) held an investigators’ workshop in December 2023 that brought together a diverse group of clinical and scientific experts in lymphoma and new molecular technologies to discuss the potential to develop biomarkers for FL. The FLF also surveyed patients in November 2023, to determine what benefits they would envisage from biomarkers.
To continue the momentum of the workshop and patient survey findings, The Mark Foundation and FLF present this request for proposals through the ASPIRE Award program for projects focused on development of potential biomarkers for various stages of the FL patient experience. This is expected to lay the foundations for translating the findings into clinical impact. Given the specific characteristics of FL, we also expect that successful efforts in FL will translate more broadly across other B-cell blood cancers, as well as other blood and even solid cancers.