Current and future therapeutic approaches for the treatment of follicular lymphoma.

Current and future therapeutic approaches for the treatment of follicular lymphoma. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2018 Jul 04;: Authors: Pulsoni A, Cappelli LV, Ballotta L, Canichella M, Serrao A, Annechini G, D'Elia GM, Foà R Abstract INTRODUCTION: Nowadays follicular lymphoma (FL) is considered a virtually incurable disease. Nevertheless, an improvement of prognostic criteria must be pursued in order to achieve new treatment strategies based on a personalized approach. Areas covered: Prognostic scores, old and recent, as well as innovative and experimental therapeutic approaches are constantly evaluated when it comes to discussing the proper approach to FL, due to its extremely variable presentation at diagnosis. For asymptomatic, low-tumor burden FL, a "watch & wait" policy is currently the first-choice approach, although possible alternatives are discussed. Early stage FL may be treated with local radiotherapy although the role of minimal residual disease in possible additional agents should be determined. The first line treatment for symptomatic FL is chemo-immunotherapy followed by two years maintenance therapy with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. A deeper knowledge of FL biology has opened new perspectives regarding the timing of therapy and has offered new targets for the development of novel agents that aim to change the therapeutic scenario of FL management. Expert commentary: The introduction of novel agents could ques...
Source: Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Expert Rev Anticancer Ther Source Type: research