Integrating emerging treatment options in mantle cell lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma is an uncommon lymphoma subtype that is currently considered incurable and lacks a single standard of care. Choice of treatment is complicated by the disease’s clinical heterogeneity. The course of the disease may be indolent, moderately aggressive, or aggressive. A translocation between chromosomes 11 and 14 is observed in the majority of mantle cell lymphoma patients, and the diseased cells may develop a variety of other genetic aberrations. Although the disease tends to respond well to treatment, patients almost invariably relapse, with many becoming chemotherapy refractory over time. The development of new treatment strategies has improved the prognosis for these patients. Novel approaches include intensive chemotherapy, often in combination with stem cell transplantation; maintenance therapy with extended duration; and new targeted treatments such as ibrutinib, bendamustine, bortezomib, lenalidomide, and idelalisib. Many of these new agents have shown promising activity, both as single agents and in combination regimens.