Chemotherapy for indolent lymphoma

Indolent lymphoma belongs to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. B-cell indolent lymphoma includes small lymphocytic lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, etc. T-cell indolent lymphoma refers to mycosis fungoides indolent lymphoma, which also has the characteristics of skipping metastasis and more extranodal invasion, so its treatment is still mainly based on chemotherapy.

Indolent lymphoma develops slowly. Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy are effective, but it is not easy to relieve. It requires a long treatment process. For early-stage patients, the survival period after treatment relief exceeds 10 years, and a very small number of patients may have spontaneous tumor regression. Patients in the middle and late stages are prone to multiple relapses after chemotherapy, but the median survival time can also reach about 10 years.

Indolent lymphoma mostly advocates the principle of palliative treatment, and chemotherapy should be postponed as much as possible. If the disease progresses, chlorambucil 4-12 mg orally once a day or cyclophosphamide 100 mg orally once a day can be given alone. Other drugs that can be used to treat indolent lymphoma include fludarabine, cladribine, and pentostatin. Combination chemotherapy can use the COP regimen, which is a combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone. Clinical trials have shown that whether it is used alone or in combination, strong chemotherapy has poor effects and cannot improve survival.