Scientists from the UK and the US have developed the world’s first online calculator that predicts whether a rare blood cancer—Hodgkin lymphoma—is likely to return within two years of treatment. And it involves just science, numbers, and 20 years of painstaking research.The tool, known as E-HIPI (Early-stage Hodgkin Lymphoma International Prognostication Index), is a serious game-changer. Built using data from more than 5,000 patients involved in international clinical trials, it is the first risk model of its kind designed specifically for early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL)—a cancer that messes with your lymphatic system by attacking your white blood cells.What it does and how it worksE-HIPI draws on real clinical data, everything from a patient’s sex and tumour size to their haemoglobin and albumin levels. In less than a minute, it can give clinicians a pretty reliable sense of how likely a patient is to relapse within two years of completing treatment.Why this mattersHodgkin lymphoma is one of the more treatable cancers, especially when caught early. But for a significant number of patients, the disease comes back and often with a vengeance. When a relapse happens, it usually means the patient has to go through more aggressive treatments like high-dose chemotherapy or even a stem cell transplant, which come with higher risks, longer recovery times, and a bigger emotional toll.So having a tool like E-HIPI that gives doctors and patients a heads-up about the risk of relapse is more than just helpful; it could literally be lifesaving.The serious side of a relapseA relapse of Hodgkin lymphoma can be brutal. It means starting all over again, often with more intensive and targeted treatment. In some cases, patients who have relapsed also have a harder time responding to therapy, and their prognosis may not be as favourable the second time around.That is why identifying high-risk patients early is so crucial. With E-HIPI, doctors can now tailor treatment more precisely, opting for more aggressive care for those who need it and sparing others from unnecessary side effects.From Manchester to New Jersey: a global effortE-HIPI is the product of a remarkable international collaboration. Scientists and clinicians from the University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust joined forces with top institutions in the US like RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute, and Tufts Medical Center. Co-author of the study and Professor John Radford, Professor of Medical Oncology at The University of Manchester and Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, told the Express UK: "This is the culmination of two decades of work. We wanted to find a better way to predict the outcome of people with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma following treatment."He added: "Until now we have lacked a robust tool, but we can now forecast how well individual patients are likely to respond to treatment, offering hope for more tailored and effective therapies. Crucially, the new tool can estimate a patient's likelihood of remaining cancer-free two years after treatment, which is a real game-changer. For some patients, it may mean avoiding overtreatment and its long-term side effects. For others, it may flag the need for closer monitoring or more intensive therapy."