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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
07:52
Multiplexed Fluorescent Immunohistochemical Staining, Imaging, and Analysis in Histological Samples of Lymphoma
Published on: January 9, 2019
Follicular lymphoma: a historical overview
Koen van Besien1, Harry Schouten
1Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago, IL 60607, USA. kvbesien@uchicago.edu
Leukemia & Lymphoma
|February 28, 2007
Summary
Follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has seen significant treatment advancements. Targeted therapies like rituximab have revolutionized care, leading to the first consistent improvements in patient survival.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Oncology
- Immunology
Background:
- Follicular lymphoma (FL) was first described in 1862, initially misclassified as benign but soon recognized as a malignancy with an indolent course.
- Morphological features allowed accurate diagnosis via light microscopy, with B-cell origin confirmed in the 1970s, followed by the discovery of the t(14;18) and bcl-2 gene rearrangement in FL pathogenesis.
Observation:
- Despite early effective treatments like radiation and chemotherapy, significant survival improvements remained elusive.
- The etiology, geographic incidence variations, alternative molecular pathways, and causes of variable clinical behavior in FL are still unknown.
- The normal immune response appears to play a crucial role in regulating FL's clinical behavior.
Findings:
- Interferon combined with anthracycline chemotherapy was the first regimen to demonstrate improved survival, though not widely adopted.
- Autologous transplantation has shown benefits in progression-free survival, while allogeneic transplantation offers a cure but carries high toxicity.
- Targeted therapies, notably rituximab, have fundamentally changed FL treatment paradigms, yielding consistent survival improvements.
Implications:
- Rituximab and other targeted therapies have revolutionized follicular lymphoma treatment, offering unprecedented survival benefits.
- Ongoing technological and biological advancements promise further dramatic progress in FL management within the next decade.
- Future research may elucidate FL's etiology and variable clinical behavior, potentially leading to even more personalized and effective therapies.
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