Early immunotherapy treatment can improve the lives of lymphoma sufferers by delaying their symptoms, a study has found.
Patients with the blood cancer follicular lymphoma are usually only treated when symptoms appear.
But the time they spend symptom-free is significantly longer if they receive the antibody drug rituximab at diagnosis, new research shows.
Scientists compared early rituximab treatment with standard “watch and wait” practice in 463 patients with follicular lymphoma.
They found that 90% of trial participants treated with the drug immediately, and given regular “maintenance” doses thereafter, were symptom-free three years later.
Only 50% of patients in the “watch and wait” group spent this long without symptoms, such as enlarged glands, weight loss or tumour growth.
Trial leader Dr Kirit Ardeshna, from University College Hospital, London, said: “These early trial results are encouraging and increase the options available to lymphoma patients. It is likely this new combination will be adopted as a means of delaying the need for chemotherapy in this group of patients.”
The results were presented on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American society for Haematology in Orlando, Florida.
Kate Law, from the charity Cancer Research UK which part-funded the research, said: “Chemotherapy can often successfully stop lymphoma from progressing for many years, but if the cancer recurs or continues to grow then further chemotherapy may not work as well.
“So being able to delay the need for chemotherapy for as long as possible is an important step forward in managing this generally incurable disease.”
The Press Association.