Diego Villa

Group Website

Address

Vision Statement

Dr.

Diego Villa

MD,MPH

Position

Clinical Associate Professor

Division

Medical Oncology

Phone

Email

Overview
OpenClose

Research Interests

 

1 Clinical trials: Principal investigator in lymphoma and breast prospective clinical trials at our center, and coinvestigator on all other open clinical trials.
2 Current research: Stem cell transplantation in indolent lymphomas.  Has involved two large collaborative efforts:

(a)     Autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation for transformed indolent lymphomas.  Collaboration with Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group.  Resulted in a JCO publication and an oral presentation at the 2013 Lugano Meeting, as well as two additional publications (Ann Onc, BBMT)

(b)    Autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed follicular lymphoma.  Collaboration with Calgary and Edmonton (BBMT).

3 Current research: Role of PET/CT scanning in the staging of DLBCL.  This includes various projects in collaboration with the Danish and Australian groups.

(c)     Role of PET/CT in staging of bone marrow in DLBCL (Ann Onc)

(d)    Role of PET/CT in evaluating extranodal sites in DLBCL (Am J Hematol)

(e)     Incidence and risk factors for CNS relapse in PET-staged DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapy (Eur J Cancer)

(f)      Characteristics and outcomes of patients with limited stage DLBCL staged with PET and treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapy

4 Current research: Primary and secondary central nervous system in aggressive lymphoma.

(a)   Prior retrospective work at BCCA evaluating incidence and risk factors for CNS              relapse in DLBCL (Ann Onc, Haematologica).  This work led to practice/policy changes at BCCA.

(b)   Recent retrospective study of the management of primary CNS lymphoma at BCCA, including the addition of rituximab to high-dose methotrexate (British Journal of Haematology)

(c)   Current collaboration with Drs. Gascoyne and Rubenstein (Stanford) using tissue microarrays to identify prognostic factors in patients with PCNSL

(d)   Collaboration with the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (Dr. Andres Ferreri and Dr. Maurilio Ponzoni).  Contributed cases and biopsy material for the IELSG-18 study of intravascular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

5 Current research: Cardiac effects of breast cancer therapies.  Includes two collaborative projects:

(a)   Collaboration with VGH Cardiac Oncology (Dr. Sean Virani and Dr. Margo Davis) with investigator-initiated trial of eplerenone vs. placebo (ELEVATE trial).  I am local PI at BCCA.

(b)   Collaboration with BC Children and Womens Hospital pharmacogenomics group (Dr. Bruce Carleton) evaluating anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity

6 Curent research: Mantle cell lymphoma

(a)   Collaboration with Drs. Scott, Slack, Steidl, and Morin at BCCA looking at molecular prognostic factors in mantle cell using a variety of molecular platforms including nanostring, whole genome, and exome sequencing.

(b)   Role of autologous stem cell transplantation in young patients with MCL – collaboration with Fox Chase Cancer Center

(c)   Observation in mantle cell lymphoma (recently published in Ann Onc)

 

Research Summary

Research Highlights

Personal

Over the past decade, I have performed a number of local, national, and international research projects utilizing the various large population-based databases in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). Some have included straightforward retrospective data, while others have involved more complex analytical or translational components. These have led to multiple collaborative efforts and publications detailed below. I also have experience in the design, execution, and oversight of prospective clinical trials. I work in a tertiary academic center and am an investigator in all of the clinical trials involving lymphoma and breast cancer. I have been local principal investigator on various academic and industry-sponsored trials. In addition, at BC Cancer, dedicated lymphoma research programs at the BC Cancer Research Centre include the Department of Lymphoid Cancer Research and the Centre for Lymphoid Cancer. I continue to collaborate with their basic and translational research programs, particularly in non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

1. Management of Transformed Indolent non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
Patients with transformed indolent lymphomas experience poor outcomes, and there have been no prospective, randomized trials evaluating the optimal treatment strategy. One of my first projects was a large, pan-Canadian study evaluating the impact of rituximab-containing chemotherapy and/or autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with transformed follicular lymphoma was performed. This work involved engaging colleagues from 14 transplant centers across Canada, then pooling, analyzing, and reporting the data. This culminated in a JCO publication reinforcing the role of autologous stem cell transplantation, and was followed by other publications looking at other non-follicular histologies, and eventually the role of maintenance rituximab. The latter publication showed a lack of effect of maintenance rituximab, and led to the discontinuation (or lack of adoption) of this practice across many centers worldwide.

  • Villa D, Crump M, Panzarella T, Savage KJ, Toze CL, Stewart DA, MacDonald DA, Buckstein R, Lee C, Alzahrani M, Rubinger M, Foley R, Xenocostas A, Sabloff M, Muccilli A, Chua N, Couture F, Larouche JF, Cohen S, Connors JM, Ambler K, Al-Tourah A, Ramadan KM, Kuruvilla J. Autologous and allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for transformed follicular lymphoma: a report of the Canadian blood and marrow transplant group. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2013 Mar 20; 31(9):1164-71.
  • Villa D, M. Crump, A. Keating, T. Panzarella, B. Feng, J. Kuruvilla. “Outcome of Patients with Transformed Indolent Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Referred for Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation.” Annals of Oncology 2013; 24(6): 1603-9.
  • Villa D, George A, Seymour JF, Toze CL, Crump M, Lee C, Buckstein R, Stewart DA, MacDonald D, Foley R, Xenocostas A, Sabloff M, Chua N, Couture F, Larouche JF, Cohen S, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Panzarella T, Carney DA, Dickinson M, Kuruvilla J. Favorable outcomes from allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with transformed non-follicular indolent lymphoma. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2014; 20(11): 1813-8.
  • Kansara R, Connors JM, Savage KJ, Gerrie AS, Scott DW, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Villa D. Maintenance rituximab following induction R-CHOP chemotherapy in patients with composite or discordant, indolent and aggressive, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Haematologica 2016; 101(10): 411-14.

2. Secondary Central Nervous System Relapse of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Secondary CNS relapse is a rare complication of DLBCL (~5%), but is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This is an example of an area where no prospective randomized studies have been performed, and where population-based databases may provide clinically relevant information. My initial work evaluated incidence and risk factors for secondary CNS relapse in a large cohort of patients in BC. We found that patients with kidney involvement had a particularly high risk. This recognition led to the development of the CNS-IPI in conjunction with the German High-Grade NHL Study Group, which is a current standard prognostic tool used in routine clinical practice. The identification of factors associated with a high risk of CNS relapse (including kidney involvement, high CNS-IPI, and other factors such as MYC/BCL2 overexpression) changed practice and policy at our institution; we now offer prophylactic high-dose methotrexate to such high-risk patients. The other unanswered question was the optimal management of patients with secondary CNS relapse, which was evaluated in a large international study from 7 developed countries coordinated between Dr. El-Galaly (Denmark) and myself.

  • Villa D, Connors JM, Shenkier TN, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. Incidence and risk factors for central nervous system relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: the impact of the addition of rituximab to CHOP chemotherapy. Annals of Oncology 2010; 5(21):1046-52.
  • Villa D, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Gascoyne RD, Savage KJ. Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma with Renal Involvement: Outcome and Risk of Central Nervous System Relapse. Haematologica 2011; 96(7): 1002-7.
  • Schmitz N, Zeynalova S, Nickelsen M, Kansara R, Villa D, Sehn LH, Glass B, Scott DW, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Ziepert M, Pfreundschuh M, Loeffler M, Savage KJ. CNS International Prognostic Index: a risk model for CNS relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with R-CHOP. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016; 34(26): 3150-6.
  • El-Galaly TC, Cheah CY, Bendtsen MD, Nowakowski GS, Kansara R, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Goldschmidt N, Shaulov A, Farooq U, Link BK, Ferreri AJM, Calimeri T, Cecchetti C, Dann EJ, Thompson C, Inbar T, Maurer MJ, Gade IL, Juul MB, Hansen JW, Holmberg S, Larsen TS, Cordua S, Mikhaeel NG, Hutchings M, Seymour JF, Clausen MR, Smith D, Opat S, Gilbertson M, Thanarajasingam G, Villa D. Treatment strategies, outcomes and prognostic factors in 291 patients with secondary CNS involvement by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. European Journal of Cancer 2018; 93: 57-68.

3. Role of Staging PET in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Beyond looking at patients in BC and the rest of Canada, the next step was to combine data with other countries with similar health care systems and databases. I first worked with Dr. El-Galaly and looked at prognostic factors and the role of bone marrow biopsy in PET-staged patients with DLBCL. I then built on my previous experience in CNS relapse of DLBCL and explored the impact of extranodal involvement by PET in patients with DLBCL in a large collaboration with Denmark, Australia, and the UK. Of interest, we found that women with uterine involvement have a significant risk of CNS relapse, as high as those with kidney or testicular involvement, which had not been reported previously.

  • El-Galaly TC and Villa D (shared first authorship), Alzahrani M, Hansen JW, Sehn LH, Wilson D, Brown P, Loft A, Iyer V, Johnsen HE, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Hutchings M. Outcome prediction by extranodal involvement, IPI, R-IPI, and NCCN-IPI in the PET/CT and rituximab era: A Danish-Canadian study of 443 patients with DLBCL. American Journal of Hematology 2015; 90(11): 1041-1046.
  • Alzahrani M, El-Galaly TC, Hutchings M, Hansen JW, Loft A, Johnsen HE, Iyer V, Wilson D, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Clasen-Linde E, Brown P, Villa D. The value of routine bone marrow biopsy in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma staged with PET/CT: A Danish-Canadian study. Annals of Oncology 2016; 27(6): 1095-9.
  • El-Galaly TC, Cheah CY, Hutchings M, Mikhaeel G, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Barrington S, Hansen J, Poulsen M, Smith D, Rady K, Mylam KJ, Larsen T, Holmberg S, Juul M, Cordua S, Clausen M, Jensen K, Bogsted M, Johnsen H, Seymour J, Connors JM, Brown P, Villa D. Uterine, but not ovarian, female reproductive organ involvement at presentation by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is associated with poor outcomes and a high frequency of secondary CNS involvement. British Journal of Haematology 2016; 175(5): 876-883.
  • El-Galaly TC, Villa D, Michalesen TY, Hutchings M, Mikhaeel NG, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Barrington S, Hansen JW, Smith D, Rady K, Mylam KJ, Larsen TS, Holmberg S, Juul MB, Cordua S, Clausen MR, Jensen KB, Johnsen HE, Seymour JF, Connors JM, Brown PdN, Bogsted M, Cheah CY. The number of extranodal sites assessed by PET/CT scan is a powerful predictor of CNS relapse for patients with DLBCL: An international multicenter study of 1532 patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy. European Journal of Cancer 2017; 75: 195-203.

4. Uncommon Lymphomas
The studies below are examples of uncommon lymphomas with limited prospective data to guide management. The relatively recent recognition of a leukemic non-nodal form of mantle cell lymphoma associated with excellent outcomes, often without the need for systemic therapy, provided an opportunity to build the largest published study of observation in this particular lymphoma. In this study, I collaborated with our basic science colleagues and looked at standard immunohistochemistry as well as nanostring technology to further understand the biology of this rare mantle cell lymphoma subtype.

  • Abrisqueta P, Scott DW, Slack GW, Steidl C, Mottok A, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Gerrie AS, Villa D. Observation as the initial management strategy in patients with mantle cell lymphoma. Annals of Oncology 2017; 28(10): 2489-2495.
  • Villa D, Sehn LH, Aquino-Parsons C, Tonseth P, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Wilson D, Benard F, Gascoyne RD, Slack GW, Farinha P, Morris M, Pickles T, Connors JM, Savage KJ. Interim PET-directed therapy in limited stage Hodgkin lymphoma initially treated with ABVD. Haematologica 2018; 103(12): e530-593.
  • Xing K, Kahlon A, Skinnider B, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Slack GW, Shenkier TN, Klasa R, Gerrie AS, Villa D. Outcomes In Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma: Analysis Of 107 Patients Treated In British Columbia. British Journal of Haematology 2015; 169: 520-527.
  • Kansara R, Shenkier T, Connors J, Gerrie A, Klasa R, Savage K, Sehn L, Villa D. Rituximab with high-dose methotrexate in the management of primary central nervous system diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. American Journal of Hematology 2015; 90(12): 1149-54.
Education and Affiliations
OpenClose

Education

Affiliations

Publications and Awards
OpenClose

Recent Publications

  • Villa D, Sehn LH, Aquino-Parsons C, Tonseth P, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Wilson D, Benard F, Gascoyne RD, Slack GW, Farinha P, Morris M, Pickles T, Connors JM, Savage KJ. Interim PET-directed therapy in limited stage Hodgkin lymphoma initially treated with ABVD. Haematologica 2018; 103: 590-593.
  • Biccler JL, Savage KJ, Brown P, Jorgensen J, Larsen T, Poulsen CB, Stoltenberg D, Sehn LH, Scott DW, Gerrie AS, Jakobsen LH, Bogsted M, El-Galaly TC, Villa D. Risk of death, relapse or progression, and loss of life expectancy at different PFS milestones in primary CNS lymphoma. Accepted for publication in Leukemia & Lymphoma, March 2019.
  • Gerson JN, Handorf E, Villa D, Gerrie AS, Chapani P, Li S, Medeiros LJ, Wang M, Cohen JB, Calzada O, Chumetski MC, Hill BT, Sawalha Y, Hernandez F, Kothari S, Vose JM, Bast M, Fenske TS, Rao Gari SN, Maddocks KJ, Bond D, Bachanova V, Kolla B, Chavez J, Shah B, Lansigan F, Burns TF, Donovan AM, Wagner-Johnson N, Messmer M, Mehta A, Anderson JK, Reddy N, Kovach AE, Landsburg DJ, Glenn M, Fisher RI, Barta SK. Survival outcomes of younger patients with mantle cell lymphoma treated in the rituximab era. Journal of Clinical Oncology, accepted for publication November 2018.
  • Chong LC, Ben-Neriah S, Slack GW, Freeman C, Ennish D, Mottok A, Collinge B, Abrisqueta P, Farinha P, Boyle M, Meissner B, Kridel R, Gerrie AS, Villa D, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Siebert R, Morin RD, Gascoyne RD, Marra MA, Connors JM, Mungall AJ, Steidl C, Scott DW. High-resolution architecture and partner genes of MYC rearrangements in lymphoma with DLBCL morphology. Blood Adv. 2018; 2(20): 2755-2765.
  • Reiman T, Savage KJ, Crump M, Cheung MC, MacDonald D, Buckstein R, Couban S, Piliotis E, Imrie K, Spaner D, Shivakumar S, Kuruvilla J, Villa D, Shepherd LE, Skamene T, Winch C, Chen BE, Hay AE. A phase I study of romidepsin, gemcitabine, dexamethasone and cisplatin combination therapy in the treatment of PTCL and DLBCL: the Canadian Cancer Trials Group LY.15 study. Leukemia & Lymphoma. Epub ahead of print 10 Oct 2018. doi: 10.1080/10428194.2018.1515937.
  • Tsang ES, Villa D (shared first authorship), Loscocco F, Visani G, Power M, Guiducci B, Clissa C, Song K, Toze C, Abou Mourad Y, Sutherland H, Sanford D, Nantel SH, Sehn LH, Scott DW, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Gerrie AS, Isidori A. High-dose Benda-EAM versus BEAM in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplantation. Epub ahead of print 2018 Aug 31. doi: 10.1038/s41409-018-0328-9.
  • Ennishi D, Jiang A, Boyle M, Collinge B, Grande BM, Ben-Neriah S, Rushton C, Tang J, Thomas N, Slack GW, Farinha P, Takata K, Miyata-Takata T, Craig J, Mottok A, Meissner B, Saberi S, Bashashati A, Villa D, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Kridel R, Mungall AJ, Marra MA, Shah SP, Steidl C, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Morin RD, Scott DW. Double-hit gene expression signature defines a distinct subgroup of germinal center B-cell-like DLBCL. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2018; 27: 1-12.
  • Thanarajasingam G, Minasian LM, Baron F, Cavalli F, De Claro RA, Dueck AC, El-Galaly TC, Everest N, Geissler J, Gisselbrecht C, Gribben J, Horowitz M, Ivy SP, Jacobson CA, Keating A, Kluetz PG, Krauss A, Kwong YL, Fillte, RF, Mahon FX, Matasar MJ, Mateos MV, McCullough K, Miller RS, Mohty M, Moreau P, Morton LM, Nagai S, Rule S, Sloan J, Sonneveld P, Thompson CA, Tzogani K, van Leeuwen FE, Velikova G, Villa D, Wingard JF, Wintrich S, Seymour JF, Habermann TM. Beyond maximum grade: modernising the assessment and reporting of adverse events in haematological malignancies. Lancet Haematology, published online June 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3026(18)30051-6
  • El-Galaly TC, Villa D, Gormsen LC, Baech J, Lo A, Cheah CY. FDG-PET/CT in the management of lymphomas: current status and future directions. Journal of Internal Medicine 2018; 284: 358-376.
  • Hanna C, Villa D, Irani C, Ghosn M, El Rassy E. Leukocytoclastic vasculitis and desensitization to high-dose methotrexate in primary central nervous system lymphoma. Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma, and Leukemia 2018; 18(5): e197-200.
    Villa D, Sehn LH. Double hit lymphoma: do we need a ‘double hit’ of intensive therapy? Leukemia & Lymphoma. Published online Jan 25, 2018.
  • Chin CI, Tsang E, Mediwake H, Khair W, Biccler J, Hapgood G, Mollee P, Nizich Z, Joske D, Radeski D, Cull G, Villa D, El-Galaly TC, Cheah CY. Frequency of perforation and impact of bowel rest in aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with gastrointestinal involvement. British Journal of Haematology 2019; 184(5): 826-828.
  • El-Galaly TC, Cheah CY, Dahl Bendtsen M, Nowakowski GS, Kansara R, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Goldschidt N, Shaulov A, Farooq U, Link BK, Ferreri AJM, Calimeri T, Cecchetti C, Dann EJ, Thompson CA, Inbar T, Maurer MJ, Gade IL, Juul MB, Hansen JW, Holmberg S, Larsen TS, Cordua S, Mikhaeel NG, Hutchings M, Seymour JF, Clausen MR, Smith D, Opat S, Gilbertson M, Thanarajasingam G, Villa D. Treatment strategies, outcomes, and prognostic factors in 291 patients with secondary CNS involvement by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. European Journal of Cancer 2018; 93: 57-68.
  • Lohrisch C, Francl M, Sun S, Villa D, Gelmon KA. Willingness of breast cancer patients to undergo biopsy and breast cancer clinicians’ practices around seeking biopsy at the time of breast cancer relapse. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2018; 168(1): 221-228.
  • O’Connor OA, Lue JK, Sawas A, Amengual JE, Deng C, Kalac M, Falchi L, Marchi E, Turenne I, Lichtenstein R, Rojas C, Francescone M, Schwartz L, Cheng B, Savage KJ, Villa D, Crump M, Prica A, Kukreti V, Cremers S, Connors JM, Kuruvilla J. Brentuximab vedotin plus bendamustine in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma: An international, multicentre, single-arm, phase 1-2 trial. Lancet Oncology 2018; 19(2): 257-266.
  • Zhao EY, Shen Y, Pleasance E, Kasaian K, Leelakumari S, Jones M, Bose P, Ch’ng C, Reisle C, Eirew P, Corbett R, Mungal KL, Thiessen N, Ma Y, Schein JE, Mungall AJ, Zhao Y, Moore RA, den Brok W, Wilson S, Villa D, Shenkier T, Lohrisch T, Chia S, Yip S, Gelmon K, Lim H, Renouf D, Sun S, Schrader KA, Young S, Bosdet I, Karsan A, Laskin J, Marra MA, Jones SJM. Homologous recombination deficiency and platinum-based therapy outcomes in advanced breast cancer. Clinical Cancer Research 2017; 23(24): 7521-30.
  • Scott DW, Abrisqueta P, Wright G, Slack GW, Mottok A, Villa D, Jares P, Rauert-Wunderlich H, Royo C, Clot G, Pinyol M, Boyle M, Braziel RM, Chan WC, Weisenburger D, Cook J, Greiner T, Fu K, Ott G, Delabie J, Smeland E, Holte H, Jaffe E, Steidl C, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Rosenwald A, Staudt L, Campo E, Rimsza L. A new molecular assay for the proliferation signature in mantle cell lymphoma applicable to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsies. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2017; 35(15): 1668-1677.
  • Abrisqueta P, Scott DW, Slack GW, Steidl C, Mottok A, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Gerrie AS, Villa D. Observation as the initial management strategy in patients with mantle cell lymphoma. Annals of Oncology 2017; 28(10): 2489-2495.
  • Moffitt A, Ondrejka SL, McKinney M, Rempel RE, Goodlad JR, The CH, Leppa S, Mannisto S, Kovanen PE, Tse E, Au-Yeung RKH, Kwong YL, Srivastava G, Iqbal J, Yu J, Naresh N, Villa D, Gascoyne RD, Said J, Czader M, Chadburn M, Chadburn A, Richards KL, Rajagopalan D, Davis NS, Smith EC, Palus BC, Tzeng TJ, Healy JA, Lugar PL, Datta J, Love C, Levy S, Dunson DB, Zhuang Y, Hsi E. Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma subtypes are characterized by loss of function of SETD2. Journal of Experimental Medicine 2017; 214(5): 1371-1386.
    Limvorapitak W, Villa D. Acquired blue sclerae in POEMS Syndrome. British Journal of Haematology 2017; 177(4): 508.
  • Villa D. Novel antivirals for HCV-associated lymphomas. Blood 2016; 128: 2482-2483.
  • El-Galaly TC, Villa D, Michalesen TY, Hutchings M, Mikhaeel NG, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Barrington S, Hansen JW, Smith D, Rady K, Mylam KJ, Larsen TS, Holmberg S, Juul MB, Cordua S, Clausen MR, Jensen KB, Johnsen HE, Seymour JF, Connors JM, Brown PdN, Bogsted M, Cheah CY. The number of extranodal sites assessed by PET/CT scan is a powerful predictor of CNS relapse for patients with DLBCL: An international multicenter study of 1532 patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy. Eur J Cancer 2017; 75: 195-203.
  • El-Galaly TC, Cheah CY, Hutchings M, Mikhaeel G, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Barrington S, Hansen J, Poulsen M, Smith D, Rady K, Mylam KJ, Larsen T, Holmberg S, Juul M, Cordua S, Clausen M, Jensen K, Bogsted M, Johnsen H, Seymour J, Connors JM, Brown P, Villa D. Uterine, but not ovarian, female reproductive organ involvement at presentation by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is associated with poor outcomes and a high frequency of secondary CNS involvement. British Journal of Haematology 2016; 175(5): 876-883.
  • Savage KJ, Slack GW, Mottok A, Sehn LH, Villa D, Kansara R, Kridel R, Steidl C, Ennishi D, Tan KL, Ben-Neriah S, Johnson NA, Connors JM, Farinha P, Scott DW, Gascoyne RD. The impact of dual expression of MYC and BCL2 by immunohistochemistry on the risk of CNS relapse in DLBCL. Blood 2016; 127(18): 2182-8.
  • Loree JM, Cai E, Sheffield BS, Dutz JP, Villa D, Shepherd LE, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. Leukocytoclastic vasculitis following lenalidomide during the treatment of follicular lymphoma. Leukemia & Lymphoma. First published online August 2016.
  • Dunbar M, Dilli E, Slack GW, Villa D. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia presenting with concurrent isolated CNS parenchymal and leptomeningeal large B-cell lymphoma. Annals of Hematology and Oncology 2016; 3(6): 1-5.
  • Hapgood G, Sehn L, Scott D, Villa D, Gerrie A, Klasa R, Gascoyne R, Slack G, Aquino-Parsons C, Morris J, Pickles T, Connors J, Savage K. Outcome of primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma: a 20 year British Columbia Cancer Agency experience. British Journal of Haematology. Epub ahead of print Oct 2016.
  • Kridel R, Telio D, Villa D, Sehn L, Gerria A, Shenkier T, Klasa R, Slack G, Tan K, Gascoyne R, Connors J, Savage K. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with testicular involvement: outcome and risk of CNS relapse in the rituximab era. British Journal of Haematology. Epub ahead of print Oct 2016.
  • Cheah CY, Brockelmann PJ, Chihara D, Moskowitz A, Engert A, Jerkeman M, El-Galaly TC, Auguston B, Vose J, Bartlett NL, Villa D, Connors JM, Feldman T, Pinnix CC, Milgrom SA, Dabaja B, Oki Y, Fanale MA. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma with central nervous system involvement: an international multicenter collaboration. American Journal of Hematology 2016; 91(9): 894-9.
  • Kansara R, Connors JM, Savage KJ, Gerrie AS, Scott DW, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Villa D. Maintenance rituximab following induction R-CHOP chemotherapy in patients with composite or discordant, indolent and aggressive, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Haematologica 2016; 101(10): 411-14.
  • Kansara R, Villa D, Gerrie AS, Klasa R, Shenkier T, Scott DW, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. Site of central nervous system (CNS) relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) by the CNS-IPI risk model. British Journal of Haematology. Epub ahead of print July 2016.
  • Schmitz N, Zeynalova S, Nickelsen M, Kansara R, Villa D, Sehn LH, Glass B, Scott DW, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Ziepert M, Pfreundschuh M, Loeffler M, Savage KJ. CNS International Prognostic Index: a risk model for CNS relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with R-CHOP. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016; 34(26): 3150-6.
  • El-Galaly TC, Hutchings M, Villa D. Reply to Adams et al: “Is FDG-PET/CT a sensitive and specific method for the detection of extranodal involvement in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma?” American Journal of Hematology 2016; 92(2): E2-3.
  • Kansara R, Shenkier T, Connors J, Gerrie A, Klasa R, Savage K, Sehn L, Villa D. Rituximab with high-dose methotrexate in the management of primary central nervous system diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. American Journal of Hematology 2015; 90(12): 1149-54.
  • Hapgood G, Zheng Y, Sehn LH, Villa D, Klasa R, Gerrie AS, Shenkier T, Scott DW, Gascoyne RD, Slack GW, Parsons C, Morris J, Pickles T, Connors JM, Savage KJ. Evaluation of the risk of relapse in classical Hodgkin lymphoma at event-free survival time points and survival comparison with the general population in British Columbia. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016; 34(21): 2493-500.
  • Chanan-Khan A, Cramer P, Demirkan F, Fraser G, Santucci Silva R, Grosicki S, Pristupa A, Janssens A, Mayer J, Bartlett NL, Dilhuydy MS, Pylypenko H, Loscertales J, Avigdor A, Rule S, Villa D, Samoilova O, Panagiotidis P, Goy A, Mato A, Pavlovsky MA, Karlsoon C, Mahler M, Salman M, Sun S, Phelps C, Balasubramanian S, Howes A, Hallek M. Ibrutinib compared with bendamustine and rituximab compared with placebo, bendamustine, and rituximab for previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia or mall lymphocytic lymphoma (HELIOS): a randomized, double-bilnd, phase 3 study. Lancet Oncology 2016; 17(2): 200-11.
  • El-Galaly TC, Villa D (shared first authorship), Alzahrani M, Hansen JW, Sehn LH, Wilson D, Brown P, Loft A, Iyer V, Johnsen HE, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Hutchings M. Outcome prediction by extranodal involvement, IPI, R-IPI, and NCCN-IPI in the PET/CT and rituximab era: A Danish-Canadian study of 443 patients with DLBCL. American Journal of Hematology 2015; 90(11): 1041-1046.
  • Brooks E, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Gascoyne RD, Savage KJ, Shenkier TN, Klasa R, Gerrie AS, Skinnider B, Slack GS, Villa D. Impact of time from diagnosis to initiation of curative-intent chemotherapy on clinical outcomes in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. Leukemia & Lymphoma 2016; 57(4): 872-9.
  • Oh DH, Li H, Duan Q, Villa D, Peters A, Chua N, Owen CJ, Connors JM, Stewart D. Quantifying benefit of autologous transplantation for relapsed follicular lymphoma patients via instrumental variable analysis. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2016; 22: 941-948.
  • Wan D, Villa D, Woods R, Yerushalmi R, Gelmon K. Breast cancer subtype variation by race and ethnicity in a diverse population in British Columbia. Clincal Breast Cancer 2016; 16(3): 49-55.
  • Hay K, Lee B, Goktepe O, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Klasa R, Shenkier T, Gerrie A, Villa D.. Impact of time from diagnosis to initiation of curative chemotherapy on survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Leukemia & Lymphoma 2016: 57(2).
  • Hitz F, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Hoskins P, Moccia A, Savage KJ, Sehn LH, Villa D, Klasa R. Outcome of patients with primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after R-CHOP treatment. Ann Hematol 2015; 94(11): 1839-43.
  • Xing K, Kahlon A, Skinnider B, Connors JM, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Savage KJ, Slack GW, Shenkier TN, Klasa R, Gerrie AS, Villa D. Outcomes In Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma: Analysis Of 107 Patients Treated In British Columbia. British Journal of Haematology 2015; 169: 520-527.
  • Sun H, Savage KJ, Karsan A, Slack GW, Gascoyne RD, Toze CL, Sehn LH, Abou Mourad Y, Barnett MJ, broady RC, Connors JM, Forrest DL, Gerrie AS, Hogge DE, Narayanan S, Nevill TJ, Nantel SH, Power MM, Sutherland HJ, Villa D, Shepherd JD, Song KW. “Outcome of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas with concurrent MYC and BCL2 rearrangements treated with CODOX-M/IVAC with rituximab followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.” Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma Leukemia 2015; 15 (6); 341-348.
  • Villa D, George A, Seymour JF, Toze CL, Crump M, Lee C, Buckstein R, Stewart DA, MacDonald D, Foley R, Xenocostas A, Sabloff M, Chua N, Couture F, Larouche JF, Cohen S, Savage KJ, Connors JM, Panzarella T, Carney DA, Dickinson M, Kuruvilla J. Favorable outcomes from allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with transformed non-follicular indolent lymphoma. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2014; 20(11): 1813-8.
  • Xing K, Connors JM, Lai A, Al-Mansour M, Sehn LH, Villa D, Klasa R, Shenkier T, Gascoyne RD, Skinnider B, Savage K. Advanced stage nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma compared to classical Hodgkin lymphoma: a matched pair outcome analysis. Blood 2014; 123(23): 3567-73.
  • Or C, Kirker AW, Rasmussen S, Villa D, Gerrie AS, Forooghian F, et al. Double-hit primary vitreoretinal lymphoma. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2014; 49(3): e73-6.
  • Lee B, Goktepe O, Hay K, Connors J, Sehn L, Savage K, Shenkier T, Klasa R, Gerrie A, Villa D. Effect of place of residence and treatment on survival outcomes in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in British Columbia. The Oncologist 2014; 19(3): 283-90.
  • Villa, D. How I treat primary central nervous system lymphoma. Canadian Perspectives in Clinical Hematology. 2014; 1(1): 4-7.
    Villa, D and Skinnider B. Herpes Simplex Virus Lymphadenitis. Blood. 2014; 123(1):12.
  • Villa D, M. Crump, A. Keating, T. Panzarella, B. Feng, J. Kuruvilla. “Outcome of Patients with Transformed Indolent Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Referred for Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation.” Annals of Oncology 2013; 24(6): 1603-9.
    Bradley KL, Tyldesley S, Speers CH, Woods R, Villa D. Contemporary Systemic Therapy for Male Breast Cancer. Clin Breast Cancer (Epub Oct 1, 2013)
    Panzarella T, Villa D, Kuruvilla J. Reply to C.s. Tam et Al. J Clin Oncol 2013;31(25):3167-8.
  • Mak V, Hamm J, Chhanabhai M, Shenkier T, Klasa R, Sehn LH, Villa D, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Savage KJ. Survival of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma after first relapse or progression: spectrum of disease and rare long-term survivors. J Clin Oncol. 2013 Jun 1;31(16):1970-6.
  • Villa D, Crump M, Panzarella T, Savage KJ, Toze CL, Stewart DA, MacDonald DA, Buckstein R, Lee C, Alzahrani M, Rubinger M, Foley R, Xenocostas A, Sabloff M, Muccilli A, Chua N, Couture F, Larouche JF, Cohen S, Connors JM, Ambler K, Al-Tourah A, Ramadan KM, Kuruvilla J. Autologous and allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for transformed follicular lymphoma: a report of the Canadian blood and marrow transplant group. J Clin Oncol. 2013 Mar 20;31(9):1164-71.
  • A. Davidson, I. Cromwell, S. Ellard, C. Lohrisch, K. Gelmon, T. Shenkier, D. Villa, H. Lim, S. Sun, S. Taylor, B. Czerkawski, M. Hayes, D. Ionescu, C. Yoshizawa, C. Chao, S. Peacock, S. Chia. “A Prospective Clinical Utility and Pharmacoeconomic Study of the Impact of the 21-Gene Recurrence Score® assay in Estrogen Receptor Positive Node Negative Breast Cancer.” European Journal of Cancer 2013; 49(11): 2469-75.
  • Metcalf C, Villa D. Sugar-coating of the cerebellum. J Cancer Biol Res. 2013; 1(2): 1010
  • Villa D, Gubbay J, Sutherland DR, Laister R, McGeer A, Cooper C, Fortuno ES 3rd, Xu W, Shi L, Kukreti V, Crump M, Kuruvilla J. Evaluation of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination in adults with lymphoid malignancies receiving chemotherapy or following autologous stem cell transplant.
    Leuk Lymphoma. 2013 Jul;54(7):1387-95.
  • Hedden L, Kennecke H, Villa D, Johnston K, Speers C, Kovacic L, Renouf D, Peacock S. Incremental cost-effectiveness of the pre- and post-bevacizumab eras of metastatic colorectal cancer therapy in British Columbia, Canada. Eur J Cancer. 2012; 48(13): 1969-76.
  • Villa D, Seshadri T, Puig N, Massey C, Tsang R, Keating A, Crump M, Kuruvilla J. Second Line Salvage Chemotherapy for Transplant-Eligible Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma Resistant to Platinum-Containing First-Line Salvage Chemotherapy. Haematologica. 2012 May;97(5):751-7.
  • Renouf DJ, Lim HJ, Speers C, Villa D, Gill S, Blanke CD, O’Reilly SE, Kennecke H. Survival for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in the Bevacizumab Era: A population-based Analysis. Clin Colorectal Cancer. 2011 Jun;10(2):97-101. Epub 2011 Apr 22.
  • Villa D, Connors JM, Sehn LH, Gascoyne RD, Savage KJ. Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma with Renal Involvement: Outcome and Risk of Central Nervous System Relapse. Haematologica. 2011 Jul;96(7):1002-7. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
    Mackay H, McGee JD, Villa D, Gubbay J, Tinker LM, Shi L, Kuruvilla J, Wang L, MacAlpine K, Oza AM. Evaluation of Pandemic H1N1 (2009) Influenza Vaccine in Adults with Solid Tumor and Hematological Malignancies on Active Systemic Treatment. J Clin Virol. 2011 Mar;50(3):212-6. Epub 2010 Dec 17.
  • Villa D, Knowling M. Acute saddle pulmonary embolism in Ewing sarcoma. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2010 Jul;32(5):e210-2.
  • Villa D, Connors JM, Shenkier TN, Gascoyne RD, Sehn LH, Savage KJ. Incidence and risk factors for central nervous system relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: the impact of the addition of rituximab to CHOP chemotherapy. Annals of Oncology 2010; 5(21):1046-52.
  • Savoia E, Morano J, Cote D, Rampal S, Villa D, Testa MA. Public health preparedness evaluation and measurement. Italian Journal of Public Health 2004;1(1-2):56.

Awards & Recognition

Grants
OpenClose

Grants

Teaching/Students
OpenClose