Is watch and wait still acceptable for patients with low-grade follicular lymphoma?

Abstract

Follicular lymphoma (FL) represents more than 20% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas worldwide and approximately 30% of the non-Hodgkin lymphomas diagnosed in the United States. Although occasionally localized at the time of diagnosis, most patients have disseminated disease. However, patients are frequently asymptomatic, and this, in combination with a long median survival, led to the initial studies of observing asymptomatic patients without initial therapy, ie, "watch and wait." Since the initial report of watch and wait as a treatment strategy for patients with low-grade FL, our understanding of the biology of the disease has advanced; multiple active new agents have been introduced into practice, and the survival of patients with low-grade FL has improved. Given these changes, is watch and wait still an acceptable treatment recommendation for a newly diagnosed patient with low-grade FL?