Therapeutic approaches in patients with newly diagnosed follicular lymphoma.

The prognosis of follicular lymphoma (FL) has significantly improved over the last decade, particularly following the introduction of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab, which has challenged the old concept of FL as an incurable disease. However, the decision whether to start treatment in a patient with advanced FL or adopt a watch-and-wait policy remains a subject of controversy. Furthermore, the optimal first-line treatment for FL remains a clinical challenge owing to the numerous different therapeutic options available.

Treatment of gastric marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone.

There is no standard treatment for patients with gastric marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) who are resistant to, or ineligible for, anti-Helicobacter pylori (anti-HP) therapy. In this study, we investigated the activity of the rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone (R-CVP) regimen in patients with gastric MALT lymphoma. Patients were included provided they had untreated gastric MALT lymphoma (except for anti-HP therapy) and were resistant to, or ineligible for, anti-HP therapy.