Tag Archive for: secondary cancers

Bispecifics and CAR T for Follicular Lymphoma: What Patients Should Know

What’s vital for follicular lymphoma patients to know about bispecific antibodies and CAR T? Expert Dr. Kami Maddocks from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center discusses common follicular lymphoma treatment side effects for bispecifics and CAR T and how to help safeguard patients.

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Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

What are the long-term side effects of bispecific antibody treatment, and how will I be monitored for them after treatment ends?

Dr. Kami Maddocks:

So another great question. I think, when we think about the side effects in general, the bispecific antibodies in the CAR T both have those unique toxicity, cytokine release being the most common. And then you also have worry about the neurological toxicity. The difference is that, depending on the specific, bispecific or CAR T that you use, but we usually, typically see these occur in lower grade or not as severe with a bispecific antibody than you can see with a CAR T-cell therapy. You can still have cytopenias and infection risk with these therapies.

Whereas in chemotherapy, we think of that as more generalized toxicities, with the cytopenias, with the risk of infection with the GI toxicities. When we think about long-term side effects, so I think one of the important things to recognize is that bispecific antibodies have not been around that long in the scheme of things, though we can’t say, the risk of 20 years, what do we see or even 10 years.

But when we think about what we have seen, we’ve seen things like the cytokine release, the infections, the cytopenias, but what we haven’t seen is things like the secondary malignancies that we worry about when we think about chemotherapy or even maybe immunomodulatory therapy or secondary cancers that patients can develop. I think for long-term monitoring, right now, at least the biggest thing you want to think about is that these therapies do deplete the lymphocytes, for a prolonged time. And so the risk of viral infections or reactivation of infections, and making sure that’s being considered.


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What Are Potential Comorbidities in Follicular Lymphoma?

What Are Potential Comorbidities in Follicular Lymphoma? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 What can follicular lymphoma patients expect for potential comorbidities? Cancer patient Lisa Hatfield and expert Dr. Sameh Gaballa from Moffitt Cancer Center explain some common health conditions that follicular lymphoma may experience.

See More from START HERE Follicular Lymphoma

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Why Communication Is So Important in Managing Follicular Lymphoma Side Effects

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Relapsed and Refractory Follicular Lymphoma _ What Is It


Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

What are comorbidities? Comorbidities are additional health conditions that may coexist with follicular lymphoma. These can be pre-existing or develop as a consequence of the lymphoma itself or its treatments. Recognizing and managing these comorbidities is crucial for comprehensive patient care. While lymphoma is a blood cancer, it can influence various organ systems, potentially leading to comorbidities such as cardiovascular issues, infections, or autoimmune disorders.Listen as Dr. Sameh Gaballa from Moffitt Cancer Center discusses the risk of secondary cancers, which are a type of comorbidity, for follicular lymphoma.

Dr. Sameh Gaballa:

So that’s always a concern, and it depends on what treatment they had. So chemotherapy that can potentially damage DNA can lead to second malignancies, including things like acute leukemia. Luckily, that’s not a high risk. That’s a rare side effect from some of those chemotherapies. Some of the pills can do that as well. Something like lenalidomide (Revlimid) can sometimes have second malignancies. But we’re talking about rare incidences, and the benefits usually would outweigh the risks. But it’s not with all treatments, meaning some of the other immune therapies that do not involve chemotherapy would not typically be associated with some of those second malignancies. So it just really depends on what exactly the treatment you’re getting.

Lisa Hatfield:

As Dr. Gaballa says, often secondary cancers are rare incidences and the benefits of treating your follicular lymphoma usually outweighs the risk of not treating or developing a comorbidity. Before deciding on a treatment option, be sure to discuss with your healthcare team about the long-term risks of comorbidities and management of those comorbidities. This may help you narrow down treatment choices or prepare for the future. 

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