Relapsed/Refractory

The term “relapsed” refers to disease that reappears or grows again after a period of remission. The term “refractory” is used to describe when the lymphoma does not respond to treatment (meaning that the cancer cells continue to grow) or when the response to treatment does not last very long.

No consensus exists on the best therapeutic strategy for relapsed/refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL).

Since 2009, there have been three agents approved for people with PTCL by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

• Pralatrexate (Folotyn)
• Romidepsin (Istodax)
• Belinostat (Beleodaq)

For patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend clinical trials. If a clinical trial is not available, combination therapies or single-agent drugs may be prescribed. In addition, some patients may receive a stem cell transplant (SCT).
Many new drugs are being studied in clinical trials for the treatment of PTCL, including:

• Alisertib
• Bendamustine (Treanda)
• Bortezomib (Velcade)
• GDP (gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin)
• Lenalidomide (Revlimid)
• Nivolumab (Opdivo)
• Panobinostat (Farydak)
• Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
• PI3K inhibitors

Learn More

To learn more about PTCL, download the Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma Fact Sheet. Want to talk to someone? For answers to lymphoma-related questions 
and resources, contact our Helpline at (800) 500-9976 or helpline@lymphoma.org.