Optimizing First-Line Therapy for Follicular Lymphoma: Is It Time for Chemo-Free Therapy?
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common subtype of indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) characterized by multiple recurrences requiring retreatment. Current research is focused on the development of a chemotherapy-free approach to improve clinical outcomes with fewer side effects than the conventional chemoimmunotherapy for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed FL requiring immediate treatment. It is difficult for clinicians to stay abreast of the advances in treatment and clinical research for NHL. The selection of a first-line therapy regimen should be highly individualized according to the patient’s age, extent of disease and the presence of comorbid conditions. Supportive care for treatment‑related complications should be an integral part of FL management to achieve full clinical benefit. Oncologists and hematologists need to maintain high awareness of these therapeutic advances and the precise indications for their use so that these new chemotherapy-free options can be incorporated in routine clinical practice in the appropriate patient population.
This information was originally presented at the NCCN 2019 Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™ held in San Francisco, CA, on September 27-28, 2019.
Target Audience
This educational program is designed to meet the educational needs of the interprofessional oncology care team, including: physicians/oncologists, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals who manage patients with cancer.
Learning Objectives
Following this program, participants should be able to:
- Describe the standard first-line therapy and the rationale for the development of novel treatment options for follicular lymphoma.
- Review the evidence from clinical trials supporting the use of a chemotherapy-free approach for the management of newly diagnosed follicular lymphoma.
- Develop an individualized treatment plan for follicular lymphoma incorporating a chemotherapy-free approach based on the patient and disease-specific factors.
Richard I. Fisher, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center
NCCN Medical Education Disclosure Policy
It is the policy of NCCN that every 12 months, all faculty, moderators, activity planners and all internal planning staff participating in NCCN continuing education activities are expected to disclose any financial relationships with a commercial interest as defined by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support. In addition, all faculty presentations have been reviewed for adherence to the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support (the provider develops activities/educational interventions independent of commercial interests [SCS 1, 2 and 6] by experts on the topics).
Per the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, individuals who do not disclose relevant financial relationships will be disqualified from involvement in the CE activity as a content developer, planner, or presenter. A complete list of individuals’ relationships with external entities is available upon request.
Definitions
NCCN continuing education considers financial relationships to create a “conflict of interest” when an individual has both a financial relationship with a commercial interest and the opportunity to affect CE content about the products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she and/or a spouse or partner has a financial relationship.
NCCN continuing education considers “relevant financial relationships” as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. NCCN does not set a minimal dollar amount for relationships to be significant. Inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain or increase the value of the relationship.
Faculty Disclaimers
All faculty for this continuing education activity are competent in the subject matter and qualified by experience, training, and/or preparation for the tasks and methods of delivery.
Faculty presentations may include discussion of off-label use. Faculty will disclose that the use in question is not currently approved by the FDA per the product labeling.
Faculty Disclosures
The faculty listed below discloses the following relevant financial relationships:
Richard I. Fisher, MD
Celgene Corporation: Consulting Fee
prIME: Consulting Fee
NCCN Staff Disclosures
The NCCN Activity Planning staff listed below discloses no relevant financial relationships:
Melissa Esplen; Mark A. Geisler; Kristina M. Gregory, RN, MSN, OCN; Kristin Kline Hasson; Rose Joyce; Karen Kanefield; Lisa Perfidio, MS; Shannon Ryan, CMP; Sarah Sinclair; Kathy Ann Smith, CHCP
The NCCN Leadership listed below discloses no relevant financial relationships:
Robert W. Carlson, MD; Wui-Jin Koh, MD; Gary J. Weyhmuller, MBA, SPHR
The NCCN Clinical staff listed below discloses no relevant financial relationships:
Mary A. Dwyer, MS, CGC; Hema Sundar, PhD
In support of improving patient care, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians
NCCN designates this enduring activity for a maximum of .25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
NCCN designates this educational activity for a maximum of .27 contact hours.
Pharmacists
NCCN designates this knowledge-based continuing education activity for .25 contact hours (0.025 CEUs) of continuing education credit. UAN: JA4008196-0000-19-100-H01-P
Physician Assistants
NCCN has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Catergory 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME criteria. This activity is designated for .25 AAPA Catergory 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until October 31, 2020. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Available Credit
- 0.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credit
- 0.25 ACPE contact hours
- 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 0.27 ANCC contact hours
- 0.25 Participation
Price
Required Hardware/software
To complete this activity, users will need:
- A device with an Internet connection
- One of the two latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari (Internet Explorer is no longer supported)
- Adobe Flash Player and/or an HTML5 capable browser for video or audio playback
- Adobe Reader or other PDF reader software for certificate viewing/printing