Lymphoma Treatment in China: Research and Clinical Practice

Lymphoma is a growing health burden in China, with an estimated annual incidence of 6.03 per 100,000 and an increasing trend over the past two decades. At the same time, lymphoma research in China has expanded across molecular diagnostics, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, CAR-T-cell therapy, and transplantation.

A 2026 special issue of the American Journal of Hematology brings together nine studies examining recent advances across several lymphoma subtypes. Beyond new treatments, a recurring theme is the growing use of molecular biomarkers to assess response and identify patients at higher risk.

In a prospective multicenter study of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), ctDNA showed 75.2% sensitivity for mutations also detected in tumor tissue. Changes in ctDNA concentration and variant allele frequency correlated with treatment response and progression-free survival. Yet, performance varied substantially across subtypes: sensitivity reached 82.1% in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma but was only 37.1% in extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.