Novel therapeutic agents for T-cell lymphomas

T-cell lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of T-cell malignancies arising from post-thymic mature T-cells. Together they account for 10-15% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Because of the different underlying pathology, different T-cell lymphoma subtypes may require different treatment approaches. In general, the treatment results of T-cell lymphomas, using conventional anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy, are disappointing. Though autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation may offer a cure to some of the patients, a substantial proportion of patients are not eligible for transplantation because of the chemo-refractoriness or short remission duration of the lymphomas. Novel therapies may open up the potential path for better disease control. We review several classes of novel treatment for T-cell lymphomas including monoclonal antibodies, epigenetic modifiers, newer generation of cytotoxics, and specific targeting agents that may improve treatment outcome.