Report from the 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting

Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology physician-editor Michael E. Williams attended the recent American Society of Hematology meeting in Orlando, Florida. Here he reports some of the highlights.

Rituximab vs. Watch and Wait for Follicular Lymphoma

A current standard of care for advanced-stage, asymptomatic, nonbulky follicular lymphoma (FL) is to withhold antilymphoma therapy until progressive disease or symptoms warrant its use (a watch-and-wait strategy). To assess the value of immunotherapy with rituximab for this condition, investigators randomized 462 patients to a watch-and-wait strategy, a basic rituximab strategy (375 mg/m²/week for 4 weeks), or that same rituximab strategy followed by rituximab maintenance every 2 months for 2 years …