Treatments for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

How is non-Hodgkins lymphoma treated?

Currently, there is no cure for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but there are several types of treatment available to help bring about remission. These include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, observation, biological therapy, high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation, and high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The type of treatment is selected on a case-by-case basis, is different for adults and children, and may be combined with other methods for optimal results.

Radiation Therapy-In radiation therapy, high doses of radiation (such as those found in X-rays) are used to shrink or eliminate tumors. In treating adults, the radiation is directed onto the body. In treating children, radioactive materials are encased in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters and placed directly into cancer sites.

Chemotherapy-In chemotherapy, a personalized, single drug or a combination of drugs is injected into or swallowed by the patient to fight cancer. Such drugs halt cancer by killing cells or by preventing their replication. However, chemotherapy drugs are known to affect healthy cells as well, so patients typically experience side effects, including illness and hair loss.

Biological Therapy-Biological therapy involves the restoration and stimulation of the patient's immune system. Imitative substances are created in a laboratory and strengthen the body's defenses against the disease. Such treatments include monoclonal antibody therapy and vaccine therapy. Monoclonal antibody therapy uses lab-produced substances to find and damage cancerous cells throughout the body. It is advantageous because it will only attack the types of cells it has been designed to target (B-cells or T-cells, for example). Vaccine therapy stimulates the body's natural immune system to kill cancer cells. Rituximab (Rituxan) is an immunotherapy drug that is currently used to treat NHL.

High-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation-In the first step of this therapy, stem cells (immature blood cells) are extracted from the patient's bone marrow and frozen. Next, the patient receives very high levels of chemotherapy, after which the frozen stem cells are thawed and gradually returned to the patient via infusion. These cells then mature into functioning, healthy cells.

High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation-In the first step of this therapy, stem cells are extracted from the patient's blood and frozen; high-level doses of chemotherapy are then administered. The stem cells are then slowly returned to the patient via infusion, after which these cells mature into functioning, healthy cells.

Radioimmunotherapy (Bexxar and Zevalin) - Radioimmunotherapy is a relatively new therapeutic regimen that combines the cancer targeting abilities of immunotherapy with the cancer destroying properties of radiation therapy. Radioactive agents are joined to antibodies and injected into the patient. The antibodies attach themselves to a specific type of cell that the cancer corrupts. The radioactive agent then destroys the cancer cell, ideally leaving the surrounding tissue unharmed. Bexxar and Zevalin are promising new radiommunotherapy regimens designed to combat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bexxar's current product label states that Bexxar is approved to treat "CD20 positive, follicular, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with and without transformation, whose disease is refractory to Rituximab and has relapsed following chemotherapy." The narrow use-indications may broaden as further clinical studies are performed. Zevalin's label states that its regimen is approved to treat patients with "relapsed or refractory low grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."

• Myelodysplasia Treatment
• Chemotherapy
• • Daunorubicin
• • Cytarabine
• Cancer Treatment FAQs
• Cancer Glossary
• Cancer Treatment News
• Oncology Resources
• Contact Us