HI
First line treatment for low grade B-cell non-hodgkin’s lymphoma
include a combination of chemotherapy and a type of biological therapy called a monoclonal antibody. The most common combination is called R-CVP. This combines the chemotherapy drugs
cyclophosphamide and
vincristine, the steroid
prednisolone and a monoclonal antibody called rituximab.
If you are not fit enough to have
combination chemotherapy, you might have chlorambucil chemotherapy tablets. You can take these at home. You might take them with the steroid prednisolone.
Maintenance treatment
Once you are in remission you might have maintenance treatment for some types of
low grade lymphoma. Maintenance treatment might help to delay the lymphoma from coming back.
For
follicular lymphoma, you have the biological therapy drug rituximab every 2 months for up to 2 years.
Second line treatment
Some types of low grade lymphoma tend to come back after a period of time. You need more treatment if this happens. The next lot of treatment you have is called second line treatment.
There are lots of options. You might have one of the following:
a combination of 3 or 4 chemotherapy drugs with rituximab
R-CVP again if you were in remission for a long time
a single chemotherapy drug called fludarabine
fludarabine in combination with rituximab,
mitoxantrone and the steroid dexamethasone
Your doctor considers a number of things before deciding what is likely to be the best treatment for you. These include:
your previous responses to treatment
how quickly they want the treatment to work
convenience for you
You might have rituximab as a maintenance treatment for up to 2 years if your lymphoma goes back into remission after chemotherapy.
Regards
Dr DE