My Treatment Approach: Treatment Selection for Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma - Episode 1
Evolving First-Line Standards and the Foundation of Follicular Lymphoma Care
This segment outlines how clinicians today approach initial management, recognizing that improved survival and expanding treatment choices have dramatically changed the patient journey. As Mehta and Bailey note, frontline success does not eliminate the likelihood of relapse, making it essential to anticipate how early decisions may influence subsequent therapeutic sequencing.
In this opening segment, Dr. Amitkumar Mehta introduces the modern therapeutic framework for treating follicular lymphoma and outlines how first-line standards have evolved over the past decade. He reviews the conventional backbone of therapy, most commonly rituximab-based or bendamustine-rituximab regimens, and discusses how patient-specific factors, including tumor bulk, GELF criteria, comorbidities, and patient preferences, drive frontline decision-making. The conversation explores the principles behind watchful waiting, identifying which asymptomatic patients are candidates for initial observation and which require prompt treatment initiation.
Dr. Mehta and NP Lucy Bailey also emphasize how frontline responses influence expectations for long-term disease control in an indolent lymphoma that often follows a relapsing-remitting course. They highlight the importance of balancing disease management with quality of life, especially given the chronic nature of follicular lymphoma and the need to preserve future treatment options.
Related Content:
