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Treatment of Recurrent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of indolent, recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following:

  • Monoclonal antibody therapy (rituximab or obinutuzumab) with or without chemotherapy.
  • Lenalidomide and rituximab.
  • EZH2 inhibitor therapy (tazemetostat).
  • Radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
  • Chemotherapy with one or more drugs.
  • Radiolabeled monoclonal antibody therapy.
  • CAR T-cell therapy.
  • Bispecific monoclonal antibody therapy (mosunetuzumab).
  • Stem cell transplant.

Treatment of aggressive, recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following:

  • CAR T-cell therapy with axicabtagene ciloleucel for primary refractory disease or relapse within 1 year.
  • Bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant consolidation therapy.
  • CAR T-cell therapy for relapse after autologous stem cell transplant.
  • Tafasitamab plus lenalidomide.
  • Rituximab plus lenalidomide.
  • Polatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab and bendamustine.
  • Loncastuximab tesirine.
  • Bispecific monoclonal antibody therapy (mosunetuzumab).
  • Chemotherapy with or without stem cell transplant.
  • For certain T-cell lymphomas, monoclonal antibody therapy with mogamulizumab.
  • Monoclonal antibody therapy with or without combination chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant.
  • Radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
  • Radiolabeled monoclonal antibody therapy.
  • For mantle cell lymphoma, treatment may include the following:
    • Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.
    • Rituximab with or without a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (ibrutinib).
    • Lenalidomide.
    • A clinical trial of lenalidomide with monoclonal antibody therapy.
    • A clinical trial comparing lenalidomide to other therapy.
    • A clinical trial of proteasome inhibitor therapy (bortezomib).
  • For diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, treatment may include the following:
    • Tafasitamab plus lenalidomide.
    • Polatuzumab vedotin, combined with bendamustine and rituximab.
  • A clinical trial of autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Treatment of indolent lymphoma that comes back as aggressive lymphoma depends on the type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and may include radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. Treatment of aggressive lymphoma that comes back as indolent lymphoma may include chemotherapy.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Navigating Care disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. This information was sourced and adapted from Adapted from the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query (PDQ®) Cancer Information Summaries on www.cancer.gov.