title: Diagnosis and treatment of follicular lymphoma.
abstract: Follicular lymphoma is a slow-growing disease exhibiting a heterogeneous clinical course, with a subset of patients experiencing a rapid disease course in the first two years and some developing disease transformation to a more aggressive phenotype. The advent of highly effective therapies has resulted in an increasing number of patients who achieve long-term progression-free survival alongside a good quality of life. Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy regimens or radioimmunotherapy have been used with significant improvements in outcome. New treatment strategies such as new antibodies, biologic agents or vaccination therapy are also under investigation for the treatment of relapsed or refractory disease, further expanding the available options for patients and physicians alike. This article presents an overview of the current therapeutic strategies for the management of follicular lymphoma, focusing on the issues encountered in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Onkologie/Hämatologie, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Rorschacherstrasse, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland. felicitas.hitz@kssg.ch
authors.forename: Felicitas
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hitz
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ketterer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lohri
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mey
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pederiva
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Renner
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taverna
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yeow
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bodis
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zucca
mesh_terms: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016499:Radioimmunotherapy; D000069283:Rituximab; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D057832:Watchful Waiting
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab