PROJECT SUMMARY
We propose to organize and conduct the Seventh International Symposium on Childhood, Adolescent and
Young Adult (CAYA) Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) at the Intercontinental Hotel in New York City, NY, on
October 20-23, 2022. The first, second and fourth symposia were held at the New York Sheraton Hotel and
Towers in NYC, NY, in 2003, 2006 and 2012, the third in Frankfurt, Germany in 2009, the fifth in Varese, Italy
in 2015 and the sixth in 2018, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Current problems that still affect CAYA patients
with NHL include poor prognosis of CAYA patients from low socioeconomic resourced countries, poor outcome
in patients who relapse/progress, unacceptable short and long-term morbidity and a paucity of information on
genomic, epigenetic and immunological aberrations associated with CAYA NHL. Unfortunately, there have
been limited educational resources available to increasing our understanding of the basic biology,
mechanisms of drug resistance, development of novel translational and targeted therapies and long
term effects of treatment of this orphan disease and almost negligible educational conference support
from the NIH and pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies supporting international conferences. The
primary objectives:1) Identify new genomic, epigenetic and immunomic aberrations in the pathology of mature
B-NHL, ALCL, mature NK/T, lymphoblastic lymphoma, and rare NHL in CAYA; 2) To determine the safety and
efficacy of novel targeted cellular and humoral immunotherapy in CAYA patients with NHL; 3) To review the
‘state of the science” in AYA with NHL and HL; 4) To enhance the understanding of wellness and survivorship
of CAYA with NHL; and 5) To promote collaboration of research and treatment protocols in CAYA with NHL in
low socioeconomic resourced countries. Secondary objectives: 1) To create an opportunity for investigators in
training and young faculty to chair sessions, present their research and interface with more senior
investigators; 2) to enhance communication and collaboration with a multidisciplinary group of international
investigators in basic, translational and clinical research in CAYA NHL; 3) to provide an opportunity to conduct
a state of the art educational program in CAYA NHL for investigators from less resourced socioeconomic
environments; and 4) to facilitate and bridge the clinical and scientific gap between childhood vs AYA NHL and
promote collaboration between pediatric and medical oncologists. The results of the Seventh International
Symposium will most likely increase our understanding of the basic, translational and clinical state of
the scientific research in this group of rare diseases and provide an opportunity and platform to
engage young and senior multidisciplinary and multinational investigators to develop international
collaborative research that will ultimately lead to the development of less toxic and more specific
molecular, immune and small molecule targeted based therapies for future generations of patients with
CAYA NHL.