Thanking a Lymphoma Visionary

At SWOG’s spring meeting, Dr. Jonathan Friedberg formally stepped down as chair of SWOG’s lymphoma committee, which he had led since 2014.

Simply put, Dr. Friedberg’s leadership transformed that committee – and SWOG’s lymphoma research trajectory. Under his guidance, the committee’s work has generated major advances and contributed significantly to extending and improving the lives – and the cure rate – of patients with lymphoma. We offer these examples:

• The S0816 trial, which was published in 2016 and which Dr. Friedberg co-chaired, changed practice by demonstrating the efficacy of using PET imaging to guide chemotherapy decisions in patients with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma.
• The results of S1001, published in 2020, changed the standard of care for patients with early stage diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, allowing more than 90 percent of these patients to forego the radiation (and its potential side effects) which to that point had been a standard part of treatment.
• Our landmark S1826 trial, with primary results published in 2024,
  • changed the standard of care for patients 12 years and older with advanced stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma;
  • harmonized pediatric and adult treatment regimens in this setting;
  • demonstrated particularly impressive benefits, in both improved progression-free survival and lower rates of treatment discontinuation, for patients aged 60 years and older; and
  • led to FDA approval of the trial’s chemo-immunotherapy combination of nivolumab + AVD for treating these patients.
• Recent analysis of long-term follow-up data from the S0016 trial showed that, 15 years out from treatment, about 40 percent of patients on that trial, all of whom had been treated for follicular lymphoma with standard CHOP-based chemo-immunotherapy, could now be considered cured, with little chance of future relapse, a finding with profound implications in a disease that had previously been considered incurable.

A hallmark of Dr. Friedberg’s ethos as lymphoma chair – and a key element in his success in that role – was his commitment to cross-group collaboration, a commitment that included meeting monthly with his Alliance and ECOG-ACRIN counterparts. His approach and success might serve as a model for other disease committees.

In fact, the four trials cited above are all technically SWOG-led intergroup studies. The S1826 trial in particular established a new paradigm for NCTN group cooperation on lymphoma trials, also breaking new ground for collaboration between the adult-focused groups and the Children’s Oncology Group.

We could say much more about Dr. Friedberg’s impact and success, but space is limited. We do recommend you check out the recording of the lymphoma committee’s open session in San Francisco (member log-in required) to hear a tribute by Dr. Sonali Smith, SWOG’s new lymphoma committee chair.

Thank you Dr. Friedberg, for your inspired leadership of SWOG’s lymphoma research, and the huge contribution your work has made to advancing SWOG’s mission of improving the lives of those affected by cancer.