Indolent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas (NHLs) are slow growing forms of lymphoma. They encompass what were called low grade and some categories of intermediate grade NHL in the Working Formulation. Indolent NHLs have traditionally not been strongly responsive to conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Depending on the cancer, often a patient can live years without much treatment. A doctor may chose "Watch and Wait " - a strategy of waiting until symptoms are such that treatment should proceed. With newer immunotherapies, the era of Watch and Wait may be over as effective treatment may be able to proceed as soon as the lymphoma is detected.
Here is a listing of each type of Indolent NHL with links to specific pages for further study. This site follows the US National Cancer Institute on what is an indolent lymphoma and what is an aggressive lymphoma. Lymphoma Classification and Typing information is also now available to sort this all out.
• Some Follicular Lymphomas
• Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma / Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Lymphoplasmacytoid Lymphoma
• Marginal Zone Lymphoma
o MALToma / MALT Lymphoma
o Nodal Marginal Zone Lymphoma
o Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma
• Cutaneous T-Cell / Mycosis Fungoides / Sezary Syndrome
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy (a form of
immunotherapy) is a newer treatment for some forms of B-cell Non-Hodgkin's. A new section is devoted to this form of therapy.
Resources
Multimedia Resources
Indolent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - Article by Gregory I. Berk, MD
NHL - An Indolent Survivor's Journey – Video
Mailing Lists
See the mailing list page for NHL (many) and low grade (1) mailing lists
Related Articles
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Information Pages:
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Diagnosis
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Aggressive Lymphomas
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Indolent Lymphomas
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Treatment
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Resources
Childhood Lymphoma Information Pages:
Childhood Lymphoma
Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Books
Living With Lymphoma, Elizabeth Adler, Oct. 2005
Chapter 3: Chemotherapy, Treating Indolent Lymphoma pp 96-103
Chapter 10: Lymphoma Classification and Staging. Indolent Lymphomas, pp 293-303