Dr. Cohen Discusses the Treatment of MCL

Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

MCL a rare disease with a number of different behaviors, says Cohen. A physician may see a patient with MCL once or twice a year, and each patient can have radically different presentations and clinical behavior. As the different presentations of MCL are uncovered, the challenge in treating this incurable disease grows.

Cohen says that historically, physicians would decide who could tolerate intensive therapy and who could not, and treat accordingly. Now, it is better understood that certain types of MCL will not respond to intensive therapy. Additionally, there are certain presentations where the disease is indolent. In those patients, Cohen explains that upfront treatment may not be necessary, or where less intensive therapy can potentially be used until disease progression.