Optimizing therapy for mantle cell lymphoma

Most people with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) present with diffuse adenopathy and benefit from early initiation of rituximab and high-dose cytarabine- or bendamustine-based therapies. Some patients, however, present with primarily nonnodal disease that can follow either an indolent or a rapidly progressive, treatment-resistant clinical course. Rarely, patients present with explosive disease that can be challenging to manage and often involves the central nervous system. New agents with improved therapeutic indices facilitate treatment while maintaining quality of life, but also present new complications at the time of treatment failure. Although uncommon presentations are not new to clinicians who treat MCL, the increasing clarity of underlying biology and prognostic implications may help us develop more specialized treatment strategies.