Recent advances in the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma: a post-ASH 2009 discussion

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by CD5 expression and a t(11;14) cytogenetic translocation that results in overexpression of the cyclin D1 gene. Currently, there is no standard of care for the treatment of MCL, and patient prognosis is poor. Traditional treatments for MCLrely on conventional chemotherapy agents, including cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone(CHOP). The addition of the immunotherapeutic agent rituximab to this regimen (CHOP-R) has helped to improve patient response to treatment. These treatments often provide good initial responses that are difficult to sustain. Therefore, a number of newer agents and combinations have been investigated to produce more durable benefit. Several of these advances were reported at the 51st American Society of Hematology (ASH)Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 5-8, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this clinical roundtable monograph, new strategies in the treatment of MCL are discussed. Some of the drug classes examined here are proteasome inhibitors, inhibitors of the protein mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), the unique alkylating agent bendamustine, and immunomodulatory agents.