Frontline Therapy in Follicular Lymphoma

OncLive is doing another one of their excellent video series. This one is called "Frontline Therapy in Follicular Lymphoma."

The video series features two Follicular Lymphoma experts -- Dr. Alexey Danilov of the Oregon Health & Science University and Dr. Carla Casulo of the University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute.

As the title says, their focus is on frontline treatments -- the first treatment that and FL patient receives. For many years, patients received some kind of chemotherapy. There are lots of other options now, including straight Rituxan, which is the treatment I had. There are some other non-chemo options, too.

The videos look at some of the recent research that evaluates those options. The GALLIUM study discussed in a couple of the videos. The GALLIUM study looked at chemo + Rituxan, and compared it to chemo + Obinituzumab, which is similar to Rituxan (they both target the same CD20 protein), but different (it's made form humans, not mice). Obinituzumab had a better Progression Free Survival. Interestingly, neither of the experts thought the study would change their practice. In other words, they're still more likely to use Rituxan, not Obinutuzumab, for most patients.

Dr. Danilov and Dr. Casulo also discuss the general issues that have to be considered when a patient needs to start treatment. There are more options now than in the past, which makes the decision harder, in some ways. As the GALLIUM videos show, there are lots of factors to consider, more than just which one seems to have the best numbers.

The lesson, as always, is to have an open conversation with your doctor, to make sure your goals for treatment are understood. No treatment is the "best" treatment. The best one is the one that's right for you.