Follicular lymphoma
Follicular lymphoma | |
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lymphoid follicles that gave the condition its name. H&E stain. | |
Specialty | Hematology and oncology |
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a
There are several synonymous and obsolete terms for FL such as CB/CC lymphoma (centroblastic and centrocytic lymphoma), nodular lymphoma,
FL is a broad and extremely complex clinical entity with a wide range of manifestations
FL typically has a slow disease course which persists essentially unchanged for years.[7] However, each year 2–3%[12] of FL cases progress to a highly aggressive form often termed stage 3B FL, to an aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or to another type of aggressive B-cell cancer. These transformed follicular lymphomas (t-FL) are essentially incurable.[5] However, recent advancements in the treatment of t-FL (e.g. the addition to standard chemotherapy of agents such as rituximab) have improved overall survival times. These newer regimens may also delay the transformation of FL to t-FL.[5] Additional advances in understanding FL may lead to further improvements in treating the disease.[12][13]
Pathophysiology
Genomic alterations
The serial progressions of in situ FL to FL and FL to t-FL appear to involve the accumulation of increasing numbers of genomic alterations (i.e.
In situ follicular lymphoma
Individuals with ISFL progress to FL at a rate of 2–3%/year for at least the first 10 years following diagnosis.
Follicular lymphoma
The genomic alterations found in FL include 1) the t(14:18)(q32:q21.3) translocation (85–90% of cases); 2) 1p36 deletions (i.e. deletions in the q arm of chromosome 1 at position 36, [60–70% of cases]) that lead to lose of
Transformed follicular lymphoma
The transformation of FL to a more aggressive state or other type of aggressive lymphoma is associated with: 1) primarily gene-activating mutations in CREEBP, KMT2D, STAT6, CARD11 (encoding a
Tumor environment
The non-neoplastic immune and
Presentation and course
In situ follicular lymphoma
FL is commonly preceded by but uncommonly progresses to ISFL, an asymptomatic disorder that usually is discovered in tissues which are biopsied for other reasons. FL lymphoma may be diagnosed in the uncommon cases in which individuals with ISFL are found to have FL on follow-up examinations.[9] Similarly, individuals with >1 in 10,000 circulating lymphocytes containing the t(14:18)q32:q21) translocation are at increased but still small risk of developing FL and being diagnosed as having FL on follow up examinations.[10]
Follicular lymphoma
FL commonly presents as an otherwise asymptomatic enlargement of lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, groin,
There are less common subtypes of FL that differ not only in their presentation but also in their histopathology, genetic abnormalities, and course. These subtypes, which are now (i.e. primary gastrointestinal tract FL) or may in the future (pediatric-type FL) be considered distinctive diseases, are:
Duodenal-type follicular lymphoma
Duodenal-type follicular lymphoma (DFL) was initially considered to be a type of primary gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) follicular lymphoma (PGTFL), i.e. a follicular lymphoma in which GI tract lesions were prominent parts of the disease.
Primary gastrointestinal tract follicular lymphoma
PGTFL is a follicular lymphoma (which as currently defined excludes cases of duodenal-type follicular lymphoma) that has a prominent component of GI tract involvement. The disease may present with signs and symptoms typical of the common type of follicular lymphoma. For example, enlargement of lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, groin,
Predominantly diffuse follicular lymphoma with 1p36 deletion
Predominantly diffuse follicular lymphoma with 1p36 deletion is a rare subtype of FL[7] in which involved lymph nodes show infiltrations of centrocytes and centoblasts that generally do not form the nodular, swirling patterns characteristic of most types of FL.[1] In addition, these cells lack the t(14:18)(q32:q21.3) translocation commonly found in other FL types but, similar to many FL cases, have a deletion in the terminal part of the short (i.e. "p") arm of chromosome 1 that encodes the TNFRSF14 gene (see pathophysiology section).[13] Predominantly diffuse follicular lymphoma with 1p36 deletion usually presents with bulky enlargements of inguinal (i.e. groin) lymph nodes but may present with enlargements of the axillary (i.e. armpit) or cervical (i.e., neck) lymph nodes. In rare cases, there may be involvement of the bone marrow. In spite of the evidence of bulky and disseminated disease, predominantly diffuse follicular lymphoma with 1p36 deletion appears to be an indolent disorder that may require long-term observation rather than overtreatment.[7]
Pediatric-type follicular lymphoma
Pediatric-type follicular lymphoma (PTFL) was initially reported to occur in children ages 1–17 years old (median age ~13–14) but more recently has been reported to occur in adults.
The lesions in PTFL consists of infiltrates containing rapidly proliferating centrocytes and centroblasts that lack the t(14:18)(q32:q21.3) translocation but nonetheless often overexpress the BCL2 gene.[7] These cells may show a loss of heterozygosity at 1p36 (20-50% of cases) that results in decreased expression of the TNFRSF14 gene (see Pathophysiology section) as well as mutations in the IRF8 (10-50% of cases), which contributes to the development and function of B cells,[43][44] and the MAP2K1 gene (10–40% of cases), which regulates activation of the ERK cell signaling pathway.[45] More than 2 dozen other genes have been reported to be mutated in rare cases of PTFL but in general the genetic abnormalities found in this disorder are fewer and less complex than those in other types of FL.[42] PTFL has an indolent, relapsing and remitting course with a 5-year survival rate of >95%.[42] Patients diagnosed with PTFL have been treated with chemotherapy, surgery, and combinations of these treatments. In general, these patients did well (100% survival with <5% of cases relapsing regardless of treatment modality). More recently, 36 patients have been treated with surgical resection alone followed by observation; all these patients survived with only one having a relapse. Thus, PTFL appears to be a highly indolent type of FL in which multiple studies have reported overall and progression-free survival rates of 100% and >90%, respectively, for >2 years and an estimated probability of 5-year event-free survival rate of ~96%. The therapeutic regimens versus follow-up observations that best treat this disorder in children, adolescents, and adults (adults may require different treatments than children and adolescents) requires further study.[41]
Primary follicular lymphoma of the testis
Primary follicular lymphoma of the testis (PFLT), also termed testicular follicular lymphoma, was classified as a distinct form of FL by the World Health Organization in 2016.[33] It is an extremely rare disease that has been recognized as occurring primarily in children and adolescents[46] but also has been reported in 5 adults.[47] PFLT differs from cases of typical follicular lymphoma that involve the testis in that it more often occurs in children and adolescents; involves malignant B-cells that do have the t(14:18)q32:q21) translocation; and presents with disease that is strictly limited to the testis. While similar to pediatric-type follicular lymphoma in not involving cells that bear the t(14:18)q32:q21) translocation, PFLT differs from the former disease in that it is limited to the testis and involves malignant cells that do not express Bcl2.[48] PFTL is an extremely indolent disease which is manifested by lesions that exhibit a typical FL histology or, more commonly, a mixed FL-diffuse large cell lymphoma histology. It usually involves a 2–4 centimeter lesion in a single testicle. Patients have been treated with removal of the involved testes followed by various standard anti-lymphoma chemotherapy regimens to attain excellent results, i.e. 100% completed remissions with no recurrence of disease in 15 child and adolescent patients observed for 4–96 months. No cases of primary follicular lymphoma of the testis have been reported to progress to t-FL. Surgery followed by less strenuous or even no chemotherapy may prove to be the optimal treatment for this disease.[46]
Transformed follicular lymphoma
FL progresses at a rate of 2–3% per year for at least the first 10 years after diagnosis to a more aggressive form, principally diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (~93% of cases) or
Diagnosis
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Lymphoma_macro.jpg/220px-Lymphoma_macro.jpg)
The diagnosis of FL depends on examining involved tissues for
- Grade 1: follicles have <5 centroblasts per high-power field (hpf).
- Grade 2: follicles have 6 to 15 centroblasts per hpf.
- Grade 3: follicles have >15 centroblasts per hpf.
- Grade 3A: Grade 3 in which the follicles contain predominantly centrocytes.
- Grade 3B: Grade 3 in which the follicles consist almost entirely of centroblasts.
Grades 1 and 2 are regarded as low grade FL; Grade 3A is usually also regarded as low grade FL although some studies have regarded it as high grade FL; and Grade 3B is regarded as a highly aggressive FL in the t-FL category.[8]
In addition to grade 3B disease, histologic examinations may reveal other evidence of t-FL such as histologic findings consistent with FL and diffuse large cell lymphoma in the same tissue (referred to as composite lymphomas) or in separate tissues (referred to as (discordant lymphomas) or histologic findings similar to those found in Burkitt lymphoma, precursor B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, plasmablastic lymphoma, the high grade subtype of B-cell lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma of the B-cell type, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small cell lymphocytic lymphoma,[5] or histiocytic sarcoma.[1] Other findings indicating the presence of this transformation include rapid growth in size of lymph nodes, recently acquired or new B symptoms, recent development of FL lesions in non-nodal tissue, rapid rises in serum lactate dehydrogenase levels, and the presence of high levels of serum calcium.[12]
Differential diagnosis
FL may be confused with
Treatment and prognosis
FL is typically a slowly growing lymphoma with an overall median life expectancy for treated patients of 10–15 years
- The WHO criteria using histological grade (see previous section): Patients with Grades 1, 2, and 3A disease are predicted to have the same low risk prognosis that is seen in cases of typical FL while patients with grade 3B disease are predicted to have the high risk prognosis typical of t-FL.
- The Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI): FLIPI uses the following criteria: age ≥60 years; Ann Arbor disease stage III (i.e. lesions located both above and below the thoracic diaphragm) or IV (i.e. disseminated lesions involving one or more non-lymphatic organs); blood hemoglobin <12 gram/deciliter; serum lactose dehydrogenase level above normal; and involvement of >4 lymph nodes. Patients positive for 0–1, 2, or ≥3 of these factors are classified as in low, intermediate, and high risk group, respectively, and after treatment with regimens that include rituximab have 2 year predicted progression free survival rates of 84, 72, and 65%, respectively, and 5-year survivals of 98, 94, and 87%, respectively.[4]
- The FLIP2 index. This modification of FLIP1 uses age ≥60; blood hemoglobin <12 gram/deciliter; serum lactose dehydrogenase level above normal; serum beta-2 microglobulin level above normal; ≥1 lymph node with a diameter >6 centimeters; and bone marrow involvement. The predicted percentage of therapy-treated patients with progression free survival at 5 years for individuals positive for 0, 1–2, and ≥3 of these factors are 80, 51, and 19%, respectively.[8]
- CT/PET imaging: This method measures total body tumor volume as detected by tissue uptake of radioactive fludeoxyglucose (F18). Progression free and overall survival at 5 years for patients with estimated tumor volumes above versus below 510 cubic centimeters are reported to be 32.7 and 84.8% versus 65.1 and 94.7%, respectively.[8]
- Lugano staging: this method classifies Stage I disease as involving a single lymphatic region or extra-lymphatic site; Stage II disease as involving ≥2 lymphatic sites or 1 lymphatic site plus 1 extralympatic site with all lesions being on the same side of the diaphragm; Stage III disease as involving ≥2 lymphatic regions that are on opposite sides of the diaphragm; and Stage IV disease as disseminated lesions that are found to be in ≥1 non-lymphatic organs.[4]
- Response-based prognosis: FL patients whose disease progresses within 24 months of initiating treatment with chemotherapy and immunotherapy versus patients whose disease does not progress within 24 months are predicted to have 5 year survival rates of 50–74% versus ~90%, respectively.[8]
The prognosis and treatment for the specific presentations of typical FL cases (see above sections for the prognoses and treatment recommendations for primary gastrointestinal tract FL, predominantly diffuse FL with 1p36 deletion, pediatric-type FL, and primary FL of the testis) that are in common use are as follows:
In situ follicular lymphoma
ISFL is a benign condition that may be reevaluated periodically to detect the rare cases of it which progress to FL; otherwise ISFL is not treated.[9]
Localized follicular lymphoma
In 10–20% of cases, FL appears limited to single radiation field, does not involve the bone marrow, and is therefore regarded as localized early-stage FL. In these cases, which are sometimes classified as Ann Arbor stage I (i.e. disease limited to a single restricted region) or stage II (i.e. disease restricted to two sites that are on the same side of the diaphragm),[4] radiation therapy achieves 10 year overall survival rates of 60–80% and median overall survival times of 19 years.[8] It seems likely that many of the relapses in these cases are due to undetected disease outside of the radiation field at the time of radiation treatment. The use of PET/CT imaging is strongly recommended to insure that the FL is localized. In any case, the excellent results achieved with radiation therapy strongly support its use in localized disease. The use of an immunotherapeutic agent such as rituximab alone or in combination with a chemotherapeutic regimen such as CVP (i.e. cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone and rituximab) in cases of localized, early-stage disease may be appropriate choices for some of these early-stage patients.[4] However, the latter approach is recommended for cases of localized disease in which the disease extends beyond a single field: 56% of patients treated in this manner had progression-free survival at 10 years while patients treated with other regimens had progression free survivals of 41%. Nonetheless, overall survival did not differ between the two groups.[13]
Asymptomatic follicular lymphoma
Patients with asymptomatic but not localized low grade FL,
Symptomatic follicular lymphoma
Symptomatic FL requires treatments directed at relieving symptoms by reducing the load of tumor cells. Various
The R-CHOP regimen appears superior to the R-CVP regimen with, for example, one study finding 8-year progression-free survival rates of 57% versus 46% for the two respective regimens.[33] More recently, FL patients have been treated with other regimens including: 1) rituximab combined with the chemotherapeutic alkylating agent bendamustine; 2) rituximab combined with the chemotherapeutic agent fludarabine and the inhibitor of Type II topoisomerase, mitoxantrone;[33] and 3) rituximab combined with another immunotherapeutic agent such as galiximab, epratuzumab (monoclonal antibodies directed respectively against the CD80 or CD22 cell surface proteins on immune cells including B cells), or the immunomodulating medication, lenalidomide.[13] While it is too soon to judge the long-term results of the latter regimens, the regimens have shown similar results when analyzed based on poor treatment responses (~10–20% poor responses). Bendamustine with rituximab may be preferable to R-CHOP or R-CVP for treating low-grade (i.e. Grades 1, 2, and possibly 3A) FL; R-CHOP may be preferred in FL that has high-risk characteristics (e.g. high levels of Beta-2 macroglobulin or bone marrow involvement). The combination of lenalidomide with rituximab has shown good potential in treating indolent cases of FL.[13]
Studies indicate that maintenance therapy with rituximab following successful induction therapy prolongs progression-free survival; for example one study found progression-free survival after 6 years of treatment was 59.2% in patients treated with rituximab maintenance and 42.7% without this maintenance; however, overall survival at 6 years was similar in the two groups, 87.4% and 88.7%, respectively. Another study found that prolonged maintenance with rituximab did not have any benefits over an eight-month maintenance period.[13] Finally, surgery[55][56] and radiation[4][13][33] are additional therapies that can be used to relieve symptoms caused by bulky t-FL disease or to treat lesions in patients who cannot withstand other types of treatment.
Transformed follicular lymphoma
Early studies on treating t-FL with various purely chemotherapy regimens gave poor results with median overall survival times of 1–2 years. However, the addition of rituximab to the regimens such as CVP and CHOP as part of induction and maintenance therapies (i.e. R-CVP and R-CHOP) greatly improved overall 5 year survival to rates of 73%. The R-CHOP regimen is a good option for treating such cases.[5] However, these regimens need not be started in people with FL who are asymptomatic and have low tumor burdens: the outcomes in such patients show no difference between early versus delayed treatment. Some recent studies found that the use of rituximab in combination with bendamustine (i.e. the RB regimen) provided better results than R-CHOP: progression-free survival times in one study were 69.5 months for RB and 31.2 months for R-CHOP. Similar results were obtained when RB was compared to R-CVP. These studies also found no overall survival time benefit between the RB and R-CHOP regimens. Other recently examined regimens include 1) the use of obinutuzumab instead of rituximab in the R-CHOP and R-CVP regiments to attain progression-free survival rates at 3 years of 80% for the obinutuzumab-chemotherapy regimen versus 73% for the rituximab-chemotherapy regimen and 2) the combination of rituximab with lenalidomide (no chemotherapy agent) versus various chemotherapy plus immunotherapy (principally rituximab) to achieve similar complete remission and 3 year progression-free survival rates but with rituximab plus lenalidomide causing less toxicity (i.e. severe neutropenia). Many of these studies did use rituximab maintenance therapy after induction therapy.[4]
Prevention
Several studies, while not conclusive, suggest that the early treatment of low risk FL reduces the incidence of the disease progressing to t-FL. The treatments used in these studies include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy combinations plus rituximab maintenance therapy.[12]
Relapsed follicular lymphoma
Patients who relapse after initial therapy for FL may be followed closely without therapy if asymptomatic. When treatment is required, patients may be treated with the initial treatment regimen when such treatment led to a remission that lasted for at least one year; otherwise an alternative regimen is used.[13] The regimens commonly used in relapsed lymphoma include R-CHOP, R-CVP, RFM (i.e. rituximab, fludarabine, and mitoxantrone), and RB (Bendamustine plus rituximab).[4] Patients who have early treatment failure (e.g. within 1–2 years of initial treatment) or multiple relapses have also been treated with either autologous (i.e. stem cells taken from patient) or allogeneic (i.e. stem cells taken from a donor) stem cell bone marrow transplantation. While studies are inconclusive, autologous stem cell bone marrow transplantation appears to prolong survival in early treatment failure patients who are healthy enough to withstand this therapy. Unfit patients may benefit from initial treatment with obinutuzumab plus bendamustine followed by maintenance treatment with obinutuzumab (if they have not been treated previously with obinutuzumab).[13]
Other mostly experimental treatments currently under study in patients with multiple treatment failures include: 1)
See also
References
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External links
- Follicular large cell lymphoma entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms