Dr. Pagel on the Evolution of Treatment in DLBCL

John M. Pagel, MD, PhD, chief of the Hematologic Malignancies Program, and director, Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Program, at Swedish Cancer Institute, discusses the evolution of treatment in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Currently, at least 60% of patients with DLBCL are cured with available therapeutic options, Pagel says.

However, treatment should be tailored based on the patient’s specific subtype of DLBCL as not all large cell lymphomas require the same course of treatment, explains Pagel. Moreover, it is necessary to understand whether the cell of origin is a germinal center or non-germinal center as this can influence treatment selection and prognosis.

In the frontline setting, the addition of rituximab (Rituxan) to standard CHOP-based chemotherapy served as a pivotal advance in the space, Pagel says.

Additionally, other recent advances have reformed the treatment paradigm for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, concludes Pagel.