Dr. Karmali on Limitations of Intensive Therapy in Older/Medically Unfit Patients With MCL

Reem Karmali, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the limitations of intensive therapy in older and medically unfit patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

MCL is a rare and aggressive subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, says Karmali. The majority of patients who are diagnosed with MCL are older. Additionally, these patients may have comorbidities or be medically unfit, thereby limiting their ability to undergo intensive chemoimmunotherapy with or without an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

As such, these patients may have poorer outcomes, says Karmali. To that end, researchers conducted an analysis that evaluated the practice patterns and survival outcomes of patients 65 years of age or older with newly diagnosed MCL. The results were presented during the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program.