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LYMPHOMA

Response to “The WHO classification of haematolymphoid tumours” (Editorial)

Leukemia volume 36, pages 2748–2749 (2022)Cite this article

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We read with interest the recently published editorial [1] concerning the new WHO classification of haematolymphoid tumours [1,2,3] in which Dr. Cree indicates that the prior haematolymphoid classifications “used an ad-hoc clinical advisory committee” which was “self-appointed”, “took over…production of the 4th edition”, produced the revised 4th edition after 10 years, a volume that took 3 years to produce [1] He later refers to “quality-related issues” in the Blue Book series prior to his tenure although he acknowledges that the prior series editors’ 4th edition was “so successful.” We would like to make readers aware of some inaccurate statements and inferences.

First, the Society for Hematopathology (SH) and the European Association for Haematopathology (EAHP) were involved in the 2001, 2008 and 2017 WHO classifications based on an invitation from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that produced the Blue Books for the WHO. Specifically, Dr. Les Sobin, Series Editor for IARC, approached Dr. E. Jaffe, as President-Elect of the SH, to coordinate the development of the 3rd edition of the WHO classification. The Executive Committee of SH, seeking to broaden international participation, invited the EAHP to join in this effort. Dr. Paul Kleihues, who became IARC Director in 1994 and revolutionized the structure of the Blue Book series, invited the SH/EAHP to provide the hematolymphoid classification. The societies eagerly accepted his invitation. All subsequent invitations came from and were vetted by IARC, and the Series Editors. The collaborative nature of this process was explained in the introduction to the 2001 Blue Book, and further detailed in other publications [4, 5].

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References

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Steven H. Swerdlow, Elias Campo.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Steven H. Swerdlow

  2. Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Elias Campo

  3. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Daniel A. Arber

  4. University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Mario Cazzola

  5. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    James R. Cook

  6. University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Hartmut Döhner

  7. Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital, Department of Medicine III, Munich, Germany

    Martin Dreyling

  8. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Robert P. Hasserjian

  9. National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Elaine S. Jaffe

  10. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX, USA

    Attilio Orazi

  11. University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Leticia Quintanilla-Martinez

  12. BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    David W. Scott

  13. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Ayalew Tefferi

  14. Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jane N. Winter

  15. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Andrew D. Zelenetz

Authors
  1. Steven H. Swerdlow
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Contributions

All authors were a part of the 2021 Clinical Advisory Committee leadership. SHS and EC were designated to write the correspondence which was then reviewed and edited by all other authors (DAA, MC, JRC, HD, MD, RPH, ESJ, AO, LQ-M, DWS, AT, JNW, ADZ).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven H. Swerdlow.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Swerdlow, S.H., Campo, E., Arber, D.A. et al. Response to “The WHO classification of haematolymphoid tumours” (Editorial). Leukemia 36, 2748–2749 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-022-01689-9

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