Dr. Lunning Discusses the Treatment of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

Matthew A. Lunning, DO, assistant professor, Internal Medicine Division of Oncology & Hematology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses the treatment of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).

PTCL is a heterogeneous disease that can present in many different ways, says Lunning, making a majority of the subtypes very aggressive. If time permits, Lunning advises getting a hematopathology review done, as it may change the diagnosis and the initial therapy. This decision may then impact whether that patient can be moved onto consolidative autologous stem cell transplant, an allogeneic stem cell transplant, or no transplant.

Lunning says that it is difficult to be 100% confident in the initial diagnosis in PTCL, which makes getting reviews like this important. It is reasonable to consider sending individuals with the more aggressive subtypes of PTCL to centers that have experience with treating this cancer. Additionally, these centers may have access to clinical trials of PTCL.