Lymphoma Consortia, Initiatives, and Scientific Workshops

Each year, nearly 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYA) are diagnosed with cancer, with lymphomas accounting for nearly one in five cases and presenting unique medical and psychosocial challenges. To address these needs, the Foundation launched its AYA initiative in 2014, later establishing the first-of-its-kind AYA Lymphoma Consortium to advance research, improve care, and raise awareness through education and advocacy efforts. Today, the Consortium continues to build on its workshops and collaborations to identify research gaps, optimize outcomes, and support young patients from diagnosis through survivorship.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized the treatment landscape for lymphoma. Despite its proven efficacy, utilization remains low due to several barriers to access. To address these challenges, the Foundation’s CAR T-cell Therapy Stakeholder Summit Series brings together leading researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, industry partners, and survivors to develop solutions for better usage of this treatment option in the future. This collaborative effort helps to advance cutting-edge science and ensures every patient has the opportunity to benefit from this life-saving treatment.

The Foundation quickly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by convening leading experts to study its impact on people with lymphoma and CLL. The Foundation established an ongoing panel series to examine vaccine response, treatment planning, and emerging research, while sharing key findings with the scientific community and the public. This initiative demonstrates the Foundation’s leadership in addressing urgent patient needs and provides a trusted forum for advancing research and clinical guidance.

Treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) has advanced significantly over the past decade. Despite these advances, gaps remain between clinical guidelines and real-world practice. To address these challenges, the Foundation convened a panel of experts to develop consensus recommendations on therapy selection and sequencing. These guidelines, published in Blood Advances in November 2024, provide a practical resource for healthcare providers to optimize patient care.

The Foundation, in partnership with the Cancer Research Institute, convened a workshop to address how lymphoma patients respond differently to emerging immunotherapy treatments compared to solid tumors. Leading experts developed recommendations to adapt response criteria, helping guide clinical trials, patient care, and regulatory submissions at a pivotal moment in the advancement of immune-based therapies for lymphoma.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is an incurable, slow-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that remains a significant challenge despite current treatments. Through international workshops and targeted research grants, the Foundation’s International Follicular Lymphoma Initiative aims to transform the treatment landscape and improve outcomes for patients with FL.

T-cell lymphomas are a rare and diverse group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas that often have aggressive disease courses and limited treatment options. To advance understanding of these underserved diseases, the International T-Cell Lymphomas Consortium brings together researchers and clinicians from around the world to collaborate on research, share data and biological insights, and improve diagnosis and treatment. Through this global collaboration, the Consortium strives to build a stronger evidence base for T-cell lymphomas and accelerate progress toward better outcomes for patients with these rare diseases.

As lymphoma treatments continue to evolve, patients are living longer than ever before. However, significant knowledge gaps remain in lymphoma survivorship research. The Lymphoma Research Foundation convened the inaugural Lymphoma Survivorship Workshop in 2025, bringing together leading experts to address the evolving opportunities and challenges in survivorship care for lymphoma patients.

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are an emerging class of immunotherapy offering new treatment options for B-cell lymphomas, though they can cause serious side effects such as cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. To address these challenges, the Foundation convened a scientific series to establish best practices for managing toxicities. The resulting strategies and guidelines were published in Blood, supporting safer use of this novel therapy.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare, aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has historically received limited research funding. In 2003, the Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) Consortium was established to advance research for this underserved patient population, and it is now a global network of nearly 150 researchers. Since then, the Foundation has funded MCL-specific grants, convened grantees for scientific collaboration, and grown to become the world’s largest private funder of MCL research.

Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a rare, slow-growing subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that poses unique challenges for research and treatment due to its small patient population and limited clinical trials. To address this, the Foundation launched the International MZL Scientific Workshop, creating a global platform for experts to share findings, foster collaboration, and set research priorities. This workshop series has advanced the understanding of MZL biology, treatment, and clinical research, with proceedings published to guide the field forward.

The Foundation convened the nation’s leading lymphoma researchers and regulators during the Minimal Residual Disease and Lymphoma Scientific Symposium in 2023. By convening this Symposium, the Foundation has contributed to the body of evidence on the current relevance of MRD in the treatment of lymphoma/CLL and encouraged the development of standards for the use of MRD within the context of clinical research.

The Foundation developed a national workshop series to examine the growing role of oral therapies in lymphoma and CLL treatment, addressing opportunities, challenges, and especially the critical issue of patient adherence. As a result, the Foundation created the first disease-specific resources to support patients using oral therapies, advancing both research and patient care.

The Transformed Lymphomas and CLL Workshop marked the first time an international audience was convened to discuss the topic of transformation, when chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or an indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma become aggressive lymphomas, both clinically and morphologically. The experts in attendance created a research roadmap and plan to address this important area of unmet need.