An update on the management of peripheral T-cell lymphoma and emerging treatment options

Adrienne A Phillips¹, Colette Owens², Sangmin Lee¹, Govind Bhagat^3
1Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, ²Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, ³Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Abstract: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) comprise a rare and heterogeneous subset of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs) that arise from post-thymic T-cells or natural killer (NK)-cells at nodal or extranodal sites. Worldwide, PTCLs represent approximately 12% of all NHLs and the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) classification includes over 20 biologically and clinically distinct T/NK-cell neoplasms that differ significantly in presentation, pathology, and response to therapy. Because of the rarity and heterogeneity of these diseases, large clinical trials have not been conducted and optimal therapy is not well defined. Most subtypes are treated with similar combination chemotherapy regimens as used for aggressive B-cell NHL, but with poorer outcomes. New treatment combinations and novel agents are currently being explored for PTCLs and this review highlights a number of options that appear promising.

Keywords: treatment, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, novel therapy, natural-killer cells