The national Swiss study coordinator of paediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma, together with international colleagues, is drawing attention to an urgent problem: promising therapeutic approaches for young patients with cancer cannot be implemented because pharmaceutical companies are not cooperating. The research group has expressed its concerns in a letter that is published in the renowned journal The Lancet.
The problem: Between 2016 and 2020, the European research group EuroNet-PHL conducted the largest study to date on Hodgkin’s lymphoma, involving over 2,800 young patients from Europe and Oceania. Based on these results and promising study data on immunotherapy, a follow-up study was planned to demonstrate that reduced side effects at the same high chance of cure could be possible. However, for two years, the study group has been searching in vain for a partnership with the pharmaceutical industry.
Why new therapies are important: Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a malignant disease of the lymphatic system that primarily affects young patients. Today, 90 to 95 per cent of them can be treated successfully. While cure rates are good, reducing long-term treatment toxicities remains a priority. Historically, intensive chemotherapy and radiation have led to serious late effects including secondary cancers, heart damage, and infertility. The recently completed EuroNet-PHL-C2 study already demonstrated that treatment modifications lead to less long-term treatment toxicities, and the proposed next-generation approaches combining immunotherapy with further reduced chemotherapy aim to lower these risks even more.
The letter: The letter published on 10 January 2026 was led by PD Dr Francesco Ceppi, a paediatric oncologist at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). The fundamental problem: the market for paediatric drugs is small and economically unattractive for pharmaceutical companies. Although legislation has been introduced to encourage drug development for young patients, most studies testing new immunotherapies have been conducted primarily in adult patients — where patient numbers are much larger — or in paediatric populations outside Europe.
Significance for Switzerland: SPOG has already taken on the role of sponsor representative in Switzerland for two EuroNet-PHL studies. Without international cooperation that entails partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, SPOG member clinics cannot offer optimally improved treatments to young patients with cancer in Switzerland. Only through the involvement of pharmaceutical companies in paediatric studies can young patients benefit from promising new therapies and have the costs covered by health insurers.
Our hope: We hope that the publication in The Lancet will lead to a rethink amongst pharmaceutical companies. Young patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma should have access to innovative treatment strategies that hold promise for reducing treatment-related late effects without compromising cure rates. The research groundwork has been laid. Now we need pharmaceutical companies to help bring these concepts into clinical practice.
Link to The Lancet
References
Ceppi F, Veening M, Mascarin M, Balwierz W, Mauz-Koerholz C, on behalf of the European Network for Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Consortium. Action for first-line PD-1 inhibitors in paediatric Hodgkin lymphoma. The Lancet. 2026;407(10524): P126-127. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)02386-4
Catia Gehrig
Catia Gehrig is Head Partner Relations at SPOG and is responsible for communications, fundraising and administration. She is a passionate communicator and networker for paediatric cancer research.
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