New Biologic Agents and Immunologic Strategies

The treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma has traditionally consisted of cytotoxic chemotherapy, which can frequently induce remissions but less reliably delivers long-term disease-free survival. The last two decades have heralded an era of increasing exploration of therapies derived from improved biologic understanding of tumors and tumor-host interactions, including the development of therapeutic tactics that take advantage of immune mechanisms to target and kill tumors. Foremost among these has been the development of monoclonal antibodies. Currently, an array of novel therapeutics in development may improve outcomes further, including novel monoclonals and other agents that take advantage of or optimize immune system function in the treatment of lymphoma or that provide other mechanisms of antitumor activity.