Recent Treatment Guideline Updates [video]

A few weeks ago, OncLive did another of their short videos series, featuring oncologists exchanging ideas.

This one is called "Recent Treatment Guideline Updates in Follicular Lymphoma," and it features Dr. Sameh Gaballa of the Moffitt Cancer Center and Dr. Matthew Lunning of the University of Nebraska. (Unfortunately, there's no written transcript of the conversation, just a video.)

The two of them talk briefly about some of the changes that have been made to NCCN Guidelines. Those are the general guidelines for oncologists for which FL patients should receive which treatments, and in which order, if necessary. If you've been paying attention to FL research, you can guess that the guidelines are very flexible -- lots of options. That's good in a way, but less good because it means none of them are perfect.

Anyway, the two oncologists talk about how the guidelines have influenced their ways of diagnosing FL patients. 

Dr. Gaballa discusses testing patients for EZH2. It's an interesting idea -- as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we have very few biomarkers that tell us that a particular treatment will work, but EZH2 is one of them. But relatively few FL patients have the marker, so it is limited in its usefulness. But for those who do have the biomarker, Tazemetostat is a good option -- especially for patients who have already had multiple treatments, given its less aggressive side effects.

They continue their conversation in a second video, "Evolving Treatment Landscape of Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma." 

It's interesting to hear them talk about the kind of choices they make, and why. They are based on individual patients' needs, which is great, but also things like the recent pandemic, and making sure that their patients ' immune systems can handle the potential side effects of certain treatments.

It's a short, fast conversation, almost like sitting at a table in a restaurant and overhearing two oncologists talk about their work. But it's a very interesting bit of eavesdropping, and I always enjoy hearing oncologists get a little bit excited about what they do.