Optimizing the treatment of patients with rituximab-pretreated recurrent indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Overview

Indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are among the most prevalent hematologic malignancies; their incidence has been increasing over the last several decades. Because advanced-stage indolent lymphoma is generally incurable, therapy for this group of patients is geared toward chronic management over years. Recently, numerous trials have demonstrated that the combination of chemotherapy and the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab can provide superior efficacy to chemotherapy alone. Thus, rituximab-containing regimens are the standard approach for primary therapy in patients with symptomatic advanced disease. As these patients progress and receive multiple rituximab-based regimens over time, new treatment options are needed for this new group of rituximab-pretreated patients. This review focuses on the development of novel therapies for rituximab-pretreated, relapsed or refractory indolent NHL.