Immunological Senescence Phenotype as a Resistance Profile to Pembrolizumab in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin's Lymphoma

This is a single-centre, observational, prospective and exploratory study using human tissues from cHL R/R patients treated with pembrolizumab at the IRCCS AOU of Bologna's Diagnosis and Therapy of Chronic Lymphoproliferative Syndromes Departmental Programme. Peripheral blood samples will be used for the study

• before starting treatment with pembrolizumab.
• during pembrolizumab therapy (cycle 2 (C2), C3, C4, C8, C12). Patients who have achieved complete metabolic remission will continue pembrolizumab for two years without any consolidation therapy, while those who have achieved a partial response (after about 14-16 doses) will receive allo-transplantation.

Withdrawals will be performed according to clinical practice in accordance with the doctor's judgement. The diagnostic-therapeutic course of the patients will in no way be influenced by the outcome of the tissue examinations that will be carried out for the purposes of the study.

All patients with cHL R/R who are candidates for treatment with pembrolizumab as part of the normal care pathway at the IRCCS AOU of Bologna's Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Lymphoproliferative Syndromes Departmental Programme will be prospectively enrolled.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients of both sexes aged ≥ 18 years at enrollment
• Patients affected by cHL R/R candidate to receive a treatment with Pembrolizumab
• Signature of informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• none