Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Treatment, Chemotherapy, Biologics

When the physician decides the treatment program for a non-Hodgkin’s disease patient, certain major factors are taken under consideration which include: the cancer type, location, grade, cancer stage, patient's age, and overall health state.

Chemotherapy
This treatment option involves the use of different cancer-killing drugs administered: intravenously, orally, subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intrathecally (injected into the cerebrospinal fluid). Chemotherapy treatment plans differ from patient to patient and can contain one single cancer-killing drug or a complex combination of cancer-fighting drugs. This type of treatment targets malignant cells by attempting to destroy them and stop their fast growing and dividing process. However, chemotherapy does not just kill the malignant cells, it also kills other type of cells that have a fast developing process, like hair follicles, red and white blood cells, cells that protect the interior stomach wall. If the cancer is wide spread, chemotherapy becomes the only treatment option left.

Radiotherapy
This treatment option is used when lymphoma is in an early to low-grade stage. Radiotherapy or radiation therapy uses high-energy, ionizing radiation to kill malignant cells. This treatment can be administered 3 different ways: (1) through a short exposure to a radiation device similar with the x-ray exposure, (2) by an injectable short-lived radioactive chemical, (3) implantation, when a radioactive material is inserted near the tumor.

Stem-Cell Transplantation
This procedure is used to treat intermediate or high-grade lymphoma that has relapsed after a successful treatment. Stem cells have to be withdrawn from the blood and bone marrow long before the patient is starting chemotherapy since chemotherapy will damage them. After they are taken out of the body, these cells are then frozen. After the chemotherapy treatment ends, these healthy stem cells are defrosted and reintroduced into the body.

Biologic Therapy
Rituximab or Rituxan, a type of monoclonal antibody that helps the immune system to fight against cancer cells is the only biological therapy form approved by Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of B-cells lymphoma. Usually Rituxan is administrated in combination with chemotherapy or radioimmunotherapy.

Radioimmunotherapy
This therapy is the latest form of treatment used for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It uses monoclonal antibodies combined with radioactive isotopes. The role of monoclonal antibodies is to attach themselves to the malignant cells, while the radioactive isotopes kill them. Radioimmunotherapy is often used as a last resort when other treatment options mentioned above have failed to work.

Conditions & Diseases: Cancer

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Treatment Options