A common treatment is 6 courses of chemo with CHOP plus rituximab (R-CHOP). This may be followed by radiation to the mediastinum. Often a PET/CT scan is done after the chemo to see if there's any lymphoma remaining in the chest.
In practice, most people with high grade NHL have treatment as if it is an advanced cancer. This usually means quite intensive chemotherapy treatment with 3 or 4 different drugs, over 6 to 8 months.
For high grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Each treatment lasts a few days and you might need to stay in hospital during that time. Then you go home and have a break for 2 or 3 weeks to allow your body to recover from the side effects. The number of treatments you have depends on: which drugs you are having.
Treatment for many patients is chemotherapy (usually 2 to 4 cycles of the ABVD regimen), followed by radiation to the initial site of the disease (involved site radiation therapy, or ISRT). Another option is chemotherapy alone (usually for 3 to 6 cycles) in selected patients.
Patients with fast-growing NHL are frequently treated with chemotherapy that consists of four or more drugs. In most cases, this is the combination therapy called R-CHOP (rituximab [Rituxan®], cyclophosphamide [Cytoxan®], doxorubicin [hydroxydoxorubicin], Oncovin® [vincristine] and prednisone).
Stages III, IV, and most stage II bulky lymphomas
If the lymphoma shrinks, a total of 6 cycles of chemo plus rituximab is usually given. Other options for initial treatment include rituximab alone or chemo alone (either one or several drugs).
During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.
What is the survival rate of non-Hodgkin lymphomas? Studies show that overall, 73% percent of people with these conditions are alive five years after their diagnosis. In general, people diagnosed before the condition spreads live longer than people who are diagnosed after the condition spreads.
New Targeted Therapy Treatments for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Monoclonal antibodies, a targeted therapy, uses laboratory-made proteins to treat Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Antibodies attach to a target on cancer cells and either kill them, block their growth, or stop them from spreading.
Treatment can often cure high-grade NHL. But, in some people, the lymphoma comes back. If this happens, it may be possible to have more treatment to try to cure it. You usually have a more intensive treatment than your first treatment.
Some treatments for lymphoma can have side effects that cause changes to your hair. This can include hair loss or thinning of the hair on your head, as well as elsewhere on your body. We give suggestions to help you care for your hair and scalp during and after treatment.
Early stage indolent NHL may be curable after radiation therapy. The more advanced stages are not usually curable. However, although the cancer is likely to return after years of remission, treatment can help to shrink the lymphoma down again. As a result, doctors are able to control the cancer for a long time.
The 5-year survival rate for NHL in the United States is 74%. The survival rates for NHL vary based on several factors. These include the stage and subtype of cancer, a person's age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works. For stage I NHL, the 5-year relative survival rate is more than 86%.
drugs are often given with chemotherapy to treat NHL. These drugs include prednisone, dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexasone) and methylprednisolone (Medrol). The most common combinations of chemotherapy drugs used to treat NHL are: CHOP – cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone.
Many people with low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma have full or partial remission that lasts for many months or even years after treatment for lymphoma. Most of these people have different treatments over time. This is because it usually comes back (relapses) or worsens at some point, and then needs further treatment.
5-year relative survival rates for NHL
The overall 5-year relative survival rate for people with NHL is 74%. But it's important to keep in mind that survival rates can vary widely for different types and stages of lymphoma.
In most instances, doctors don't know what causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It begins when your body produces too many abnormal lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. Normally, lymphocytes go through a predictable life cycle.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
non-Hodgkin lymphoma depends on each patient's specific situation, but in general, the five-year relative survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is higher than that of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. One reason may be that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is often diagnosed when the cancer is more advanced.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
DLBCL is the most common form of lymphoma. About 30% of NHL in the United States is DLBCL. It is an aggressive form of NHL that involves organs other than the lymph nodes about 40% of the time.