Novel therapeutics for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Application of advances in genomic and proteomic technologies has provided molecular insights into distinct types of aggressive B- and T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs). This has led to the validation of novel biomarkers of classification, risk-stratification, and druggable targets. The promise of novel treatments from genomic research has been slow to materialize because of the lack of a therapeutic signature for the distinct NHL subtypes. Patients with lymphoma with aggressive disease urgently require the development of novel therapies on the basis of investigation of dysregulated intracellular oncogenic processes that arise during lymphomagenesis. Although monoclonal antibodies have made significant contributions to the armamentarium of B-cell NHL therapy (eg, anti-CD20), parallel development of small-molecule inhibitors (SMIs) to intracellular targets has lagged behind. Despite these deficiencies, several promising anti-NHL therapies are in development that target immune kinases of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway, mammalian target of rapamycin complex, proteasome, DNA/histone epigenetic complex, antiapoptosis, neoangiogenesis, and immune modulation. This review focuses on novel SMI therapeutic strategies that target overlapping core oncogenic pathways in the context of the 10 hallmarks of cancer. Furthermore, we have developed the concept of a therapeutic signature using the 10 hallmarks of cancer, which may be incorporated into novel phase I/II drug development programs.