Follicular lymphoma cancer is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). According to the American Cancer Society, "this type of lymphoma is often slow growing and responds well to treatment, but it is very hard to cure." The treatments your oncologist will prescribe depend on a variety of factors.
"Watchful Waiting"
In many early-stage cases, you may not receive treatment until symptoms manifest or the cancer has caused organ abnormalities. In these cases, you will typically wait about three years before the onset of treatment.
Using Radiation
You will typically receive radiation if your lymphoma is limited to one or two lymph node groups located on the same side of the abdomen. Radiation also combats the symptoms of late-stage follicular lymphomas, which include anemia, night sweats, fatigue and weight loss.
"First Line" Drug Treatments
Rituximab, a drug used for certain types of lymphomas, targets abnormal B-cells, a type of lymphocyte, or white blood cell, that plays a part in these cancers. Oncologists often combine this drug with one or more chemotherapy drugs, such as fludarabine, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide or vincristine. In some cases, you might receive rituximab only or chemotherapy drugs only.
"Second Line" Treatments
If these treatments do not work, your oncologist will probably prescribe a class of drugs called radioactive monoclonal antibodies, which include Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan) and Bexxar (tositumomab). These drugs are usually given as a solo treatment but are sometimes combined with chemotherapy.
Other Treatment Options
In some cases, your body might not respond to the standard first- and second-line treatments or the cancer re-occurs. Your oncologist will likely then try different combinations of the above treatments and/or experiment with different chemotherapy drugs.
Other options include stem-cell transplants as well as non-myeloablative transplants, which are similar to stem-cell transplants but are less intense in their pre-transplant treatments. Instead of trying to kill off the disease and suppress the immune system as much as possible with chemotherapy and radiation, these treatments suppress the immune system just enough so that it will not reject the new cells.
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