Follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

FL is usually widely disseminated at presentation and responds to radiotherapy, single agent chemotherapy and combination therapy. The disease pursues a remitting and relapsing course with continuing sensitivity to brief periods of treatment until a terminal phase of drug resistance, transformation, or bone marrow failure is reached. Newly recognized prognostic factors indicative of tumour bulk include hepatosplenomegaly, B symptoms, anaemia and abnormal liver function. Using these factors it is possible to identify those patients at first diagnosis for whom conservative management is appropriate and those with a much less favourable prognosis for whom experimental treatments are being investigated.