Maintenance treatment of follicular lymphoma: evidence from recent clinical trials

Abstract

Mature data are now available from several studies exploring the role of maintenance rituximab for follicular lymphoma after induction. Rituximab maintenance improves progression free-survival for those with de novo or relapsed disease that responds to induction, apparently regardless of induction choice. A meta-analysis suggests an overall survival benefit to the approach. However, longer follow-up of individual studies is required to confirm this impression. These benefits do come with a measurable increase in infectious complications and there is debate over the overall effect on quality of life and the optimal maintenance schedule. We present a critical analysis of the current data, an o..