title: Follicular lymphoma: emerging therapeutic strategies.
abstract: Follicular lymphoma is a diverse disease, both biologically and clinically. Patients may present with indolent, asymptomatic disease or more aggressive, symptomatic disease with high tumor burden. Decision-making to treat in the frontline is based on histology, disease burden and patient symptoms. The general approach should be a combination of rituximab and chemotherapy, traditionally using alkylating agents, with or without an anthracycline, with more recent evidence for the alternative of bendamustine. Relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma carries similar variability in presentation. Therapeutic options include the same regimens traditionally used for first-line therapy; however, they also include agents, such as bendamustine, bortezomib, lenalidomide and anti-CD20 agents (rituximab, ofatumumab and radioimmunotherapy). Finally, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (both autologous and allogeneic) remains a useful treatment strategy, although the optimal timing of such approaches requires further clarification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the UW Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin, 1111 Highland Avenue, 4059 WIMR, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
authors.forename: Vaishalee P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Kenkre
authors.forename: Brad S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kahl
mesh_terms: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab