Dr. Westin on Treatment Challenges in Large Cell Lymphoma

Jason Westin, MD, MS, FACP, director, Lymphoma Clinical Research, section chief, Aggressive Lymphoma, and associate professor, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses challenges with treating patients with large cell lymphoma.

The biggest challenges faced in the treatment of patients with large cell lymphoma are related to the aggressiveness of the disease, explains Westin. Large cell lymphoma is typically diagnosed shortly after it develops, and many patients require urgent therapy.

Patients who respond to treatments will receive 6 cycles of R-CHOP or a modified version of the regimen. For patients who have a suboptimal response to initial treatment with R-CHOP, it is unclear how to proceed, says Westin. In the second-line setting and beyond, treatments for large cell lymphoma are not as effective as first-line treatments in terms of achieving long-term responses, adds Westin. As such, the initial treatments patients receive need to be improved, and clinical trials are the most effective way to do that, concludes Westin.