I am a believer in intriguing preliminary data that suggests we can modify the poor outcome associated with non–[germinal center B-cell] lymphoma—for example, using R2-CHOP (lenalidomide [Revlimid] and rituximab [Rituxan] plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone), ibrutinib (Imbruvica), or R-CHOP followed by ICE (ifosfamide/carboplatin/etoposide). Today, using cell of origin to direct therapy is not the standard of care to drive treatment decisions, but we are rapidly getting to the point where this will be the case,” said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, who is Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Panel Chair on Lymphoma, and Director and moderator of the NCCN 9th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies.

“In some centers, cell of origin is being used to direct therapy. It certainly drives my treatment decisions, but we need randomized controlled trials before it becomes standard of care,” Dr. Zelenetz comments. ■

Disclosure: Dr. Zelenetz reported no potential conflicts of interest.