Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist specializing in lymphoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the role of active surveillance in advanced​-stage follicular lymphoma. 

​Patients with advanced​-stage follicular lymphoma ​have disease above and below the diaphragm or cancer ​that has spread beyond the lymph nodes to other parts of the body, says Batlevi. 

After being diagnosed with advanced​-stage disease, patients ​may undergo active surveillance, where they are monitored for about 4 years prior to receiving therapy, ​Batlevi explains.

Notably, a small subset of patients may never require treatment, Batlevi concludes.

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Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, discusses the role of active surveillance in advanced​-stage follicular lymphoma. 








Dr. Batlevi on the Role of Active Surveillance in Advanced-Stage Follicular Lymphoma  

Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist specializing in lymphoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses emerging therapies in follicular lymphoma.

​Several emerging therapies ​in the follicular lymphoma pipeline ​have shown encouraging data, says Batlevi.

Strategies based on modulating immune response have comprised a significant area of research, ​Batlevi explains. Additionally, the utility of CAR T-cell therapy, antibody​-drug conjugates, and bispecific antibodies ​is also being evaluated.

​Future research efforts should focus on identifying an optimal sequencing method ​for patients with follicular lymphoma, especially as more options are introduced to the armamentarium, Batlevi concludes. 

Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, discusses emerging therapies in follicular lymphoma.

 Dr. Batlevi on Emerging Therapies in Follicular Lymphoma 

Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist specializing in lymphoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses challenges faced in the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma. 

The lifetime of a patient with follicular lymphoma spans several decades, during which they may require intermittent treatment, says Batlevi. One of the challenges with this disease is determining which treatment can extend disease-free interval for the longest period of time while allowing patients to remain functional; this should be an individualized decision made with the patient, says Batlevi.

Other times, as a patient matures, they acquire different comorbidities and other health issues that are more prominent. In these instances, a physician might have to consider how to manage the disease at the same time as other medical conditions, some of which can be more significant than the follicular lymphoma itself, concludes Batlevi.

Connie L. Batlevi, MD, PhD, discusses challenges faced in the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma.

Dr. Batlevi on Challenges Faced in Follicular Lymphoma Management

Connie Batlevi, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses safety results of a phase I study evaluating the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and buparlisib in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

In the phase I study, 13 patients were enrolled and evaluated for toxicity, and 6 patients discontinued treatment for disease progression. The grade 3 or higher hematologic adverse events (AEs) reported were anemia (2), leukocytosis (2), and leukopenia (4).

Non-hematologic AEs of any grade across all patients were fatigue (77%), diarrhea (62%), anorexia (54%), rash (46%), hyperbilirubinemia (46%), gastric reflux (46%), CMV reactivation (31%), mood change (31%), and hypertension (23%). The most common related grade 3/4 toxicity is rash (N = 3). Serious adverse events included grade 2 pleural effusion and grade 2 nausea (N = 1), grade 1 fever with hospitalization (N = 1), grade 2 confusion and grade 4 hyponatremia (N = 1) were unrelated to therapy.

Connie Batlevi, MD

Articles

Dr. Batlevi on the Role of Active Surveillance in Advanced-Stage Follicular Lymphoma

Dr. Batlevi on Emerging Therapies in Follicular Lymphoma

Dr. Batlevi on Challenges Faced in Follicular Lymphoma Management

Dr. Batlevi on Safety With Ibrutinib/Buparlisib in MCL, FL, and DLBCL