Tag: ash 2023

Cancers FAQ

What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

Post author By Jenna Jones
Post date January 11, 2024
No Comments on What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

January 11, 2024

What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

A leading oncologist offers clarity on leukemia vs. lymphoma

Edited by:

Jenna Jones

Dr. Matasar Explains the difference between leukemia and lymphoma

In this discussion, we delve into the distinction between two types of blood cancer: leukemia and lymphoma. Confusion often arises because both are blood cancers. Leukemia typically occurs in the bone marrow, while lymphoma originates in the lymphatic system, primarily impacting lymph nodes and tissue.

Dr. Matthew Matasar, Chief of the Division of Blood Disorders at Rutgers Cancer Institute and an expert hematologist-oncologist shares the differences between leukemia and lymphoma – in human terms.

At The Patient Story, we aim to provide straightforward answers for those looking to better understand blood cancers.

This interview has been edited for clarity. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for treatment decisions.

What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

Dr. Matasar: This is a point of confusion because these terms get bandied around a lot. Lymphomas are cancers of lymphocytes; that is a biological term. Leukemia means cancer in the blood. It’s a geographical term. It doesn’t tell you anything about what type of cancer it is.

You can have breast cancer that is in the leukemic phase, meaning it’s a breast cancer, but it’s spread into the bloodstream. You can have prostate cancer, in the leukemic phase. You can have lymphomas that are leukemic lymphomas. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a lymphoma that is leukemic. It’s a lymphoma in the bloodstream.

Other types of leukemia are not from lymphocytes but from other types of immune cells. The most common of those is acute myelogenous leukemia or AML. That’s a type of leukemia that comes not from lymphocytes but from myelocytes, a different type of immune cell.

Blood Cancer Oncologists & Experts

Rafael Fonseca, MD

Role: Interim executive director, hematologist-oncologist
Focus: Multiple myeloma, new drug development
Institution: Mayo Clinic
...

Farrukh Awan, MD

Role:Hematologist-oncologist, associate professor
Focus:Leukemias, Lymphomas, BMT
Institution:UT Southwestern
...

Nina Shah, MD

Role: Hematologist-oncologist, researcher
Focus: Multiple Myeloma
Institution: University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
...

Kerry Rogers, MD

Role: Hematologist, researcher
Focus: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL)
Institution: OSUCCC-The James
...

Tim Fenske, MD, MS

Role: Hematologist-Oncologist
Focus: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) & leukemia and lymphoma | CAR T, targeted therapy
Provider: Medical College of Wisconsin
...

Irene Ghobrial, MD

Role: Clinical investigator and professor of hematological oncology
Focus: Multiple myeloma, Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia, early screening, clinical trials
Provider:Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston)
...

Edmund Tai, M.D.

Role: General oncologist, hematologist
Focus: Specialist in treating Chinese-speaking patients
Provider: Sutter Health (Bay Area, CA)
...

Jacqueline Barrientos, MD

Role: Hematologist, researcher
Focus: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), lymphoma, 17p Deletion (Ibrutinib, Acalabrutinib, Venetoclax), IgHV mutation
Provider: Northwell Health (NYC)
...

James Berenson, MD

Oncologist: Specializing in myeloma and other blood and bone disorders
Experience: 35+ years
Institution: Berenson Cancer Center
...

Tags ash 2023, CLL article

Medical Experts Medical Update Article

How Long Can You Live with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Post author By Jenna Jones
Post date December 20, 2023
1 Comment on How Long Can You Live with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

December 20, 2023

How Long Can You Live with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia?

Dr. Adam Kittai and Dr. Joanna Rhodes share their thoughts on CLL life expectancy

Edited by:

Jenna Jones

Receiving a chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) diagnosis is likely to lead to a very human question: How long can I or my loved one live with CLL? To answer that question, we went directly to two CLL experts who have seen patients at all different stages.

In this conversation, Dr. Adam Kittai from The Ohio State University – The James, and Dr. Joanna Rhodes from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey share their insight and expertise on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), offering a comprehensive understanding of the disease landscape. Through their combined knowledge, they shed light on factors influencing the lifespan of individuals with CLL, such as disease biology, genetic tests, and age at diagnosis.

Together, Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Kittai impart not only scientific insights but also a sense of hope, emphasizing the personalized nature of each CLL journey.

People can live decades with CLL, and they can live decades without needing treatment. Everyone’s a little bit different.
Dr. Joanna Rhodes

This interview has been edited for clarity. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for treatment decisions.

Table of Contents

How long can individuals live with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and what factors contribute to the variation in life expectancy?
Could you elaborate on the significance of changes in white blood cell count for individuals with CLL?
What can you tell us about specific survival rates and life expectancy for people with CLL?
How do you approach discussing survival statistics with patients, considering the emotional impact it may have?
Dr. Kittai, can you share some insights on what to expect regarding survival rates for individuals with CLL??
CLL Patient Stories

How long can individuals live with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and what factors contribute to the variation in life expectancy?

Dr. Joanna Rhodes: People can live decades with CLL, and they can live decades without needing treatment. Everyone’s a little bit different. Some of that has to do with the age at which you’re diagnosed, some of it has to do with your disease biology, and some of that can be told by genetic tests that we send on your CLL. It gives me an idea of how I think your CLL is going to behave potentially over time. Some of that we can tell also within the first couple of years by what your blood counts do over time.

Could you elaborate on the significance of changes in white blood cell count for individuals with CLL?

Dr. Joanna Rhodes: Now, the natural course of CLL is eventually, your white blood cell count will go up. The first time that happens, it feels very scary for sure because you don’t know how that’s going to happen over time. But your white blood cell count going up doesn’t mean it might not come back down. CLL cells are pretty reactive, so if anything is going on, if you have an infection or if you had surgery, your white blood cell count can go up. It doesn’t mean it’ll stay that high. It can go back down. That’s something that we see pretty commonly in clinical practice.

»MORE: Hear directly from patients living well with CLL

What can you tell us about specific survival rates and life expectancy for people with CLL?

Dr. Joanna Rhodes: According to SEER, which is our National Cancer Institute data, the five-year survival rate currently for CLL is around 89%. That means at five years, 89% of people who were diagnosed with CLL are still alive. What we don’t always know is where the 11% death rate is from because the median age of diagnosis of CLL is 70. As we get older, other things can happen, like heart disease, hypertension, and motor vehicle accidents. It doesn’t necessarily take into account exactly why patients who have CLL are passing away.

“Get creative and try to find ways to bring joy to your life and happiness because life is short for all of us. No one knows what the next five seconds are going to bring so just live your life and enjoy your life”
Susan K. | Explore her CLL story

How do you approach discussing survival statistics with patients, considering the emotional impact it may have?

Dr. Joanna Rhodes: That’s also a hard statistic to hear, so one of the ways that I frame this for patients is that while we have statistics, that’s taking a whole group of people and figuring out the trend. The only person that matters is you. You’re what we call an n-of-1, and so that’s important to remember. Just because there’s a number out there doesn’t necessarily mean that number relates to what your story is going to be and what your journey is going to be.

Dr. Kittai, can you share some insights on what to expect regarding survival rates for individuals with CLL??

Dr. Kittai: One of the questions I hear is the average age of death of CLL patients. There was an interesting study that was presented at iwCLL that looked at all patients who were treated in modern-day clinical trials. These are patients who require treatment. They did a study where they took all those patients and matched them to age-matched controls in the general population. The overall survival of the two groups was practically equal.

With treatment, patients were getting very, very close to their life expectancy. Remember, these are all clinical trials so it’s going to seem a little bit low. It was 52 to 55 months versus age-matched controls which was 56 months. Once again, it was age-matched controls, so they matched the population to age-matched controls to general society, and the difference was only by a few months. That tells us that our patients with CLL are living very close to the normal life expectancy, even if they require treatment with our new therapies, which is great news.

CLL Patient Stories

Susan K.

Symptoms: Swollen lymph nodes on the neck, high white blood count
Treatment: Venetoclax & obinutuzumab

Hannah D.

1st Symptoms: fatigue, high WBC

Treatment: Imbruvica, Venetoclax

Andrew SchorrDiagnosis: Myelofibrosis, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)Treatment: Clinical trial, Gazyva, Jakafi, Increbic, Reblozyl and steroids

Jeff F.

1st Symptoms: Fatigue and night sweats

Treatment: Clinical trial of ofatumumab

Leesa T.

1st Symptoms: Bruising

Treatment: Imbruvica (ibrutinib),
Brukinsa (zanubrutinib)

Michele N.

1st Symptoms: Slow healing, scalp infection, enlarged lymph nodes

Treatment: Clinical trial of ibrutinib, fludarabine, chlorambucil and rituximab; acalabrutinib

Tamsin W.

1st symptoms: Out of breath, dizzy, nauseated, tiredness, palpitations
Treatment: Obinutuzumab & venetoclax

Bill M.

1st symptoms: Tightness, lumps in left side of neck, severe pain in left shoulder, enlarged spleen
Treatment (CLL): 6 cycles of EPOCH, clinical trial for DuoHexabody-CD37

Stephen B.

1st symptoms: difficulty swallowing and fatigue
Treatment: Rituxan, Bendamustine, targeted therapy BTK inhibitor (ibrutinib)

Sean R.

1st symptoms: No apparent symptoms; went to ER for unrelated shoulder pain
Treatment: Clinical trial, Ibrutinib & Venetoclax

Lacey B.

1st symptoms: Extreme fatigue and elevated WBCs
Treatment: FCR chemo and Venetoclax+R

Tony D.

1st Symptoms: Lump in back of neck that got bigger in a couple weeks
Treatment: Targeted therapy - orall pill (Imbruvica), takes 3 pills a night

Tags ash 2023, ash article, ASH CLL Article, CLL article

Significant Disparity: Myeloma Real-World Results Show Striking Contrast with Clinical Trials

Post author By Jenna Jones
Post date December 12, 2023
No Comments on Significant Disparity: Myeloma Real-World Results Show Striking Contrast with Clinical Trials

Worse Outcomes for Myeloma Patients in Real-World Results vs. Clinical Trials

Written by:

Jenna Jones

Multiple myeloma patient outcomes are strikingly different in the real-world versus controlled environments according to data presented at the ASH Conference 2023 (Abstract 541). In the real world, multiple myeloma patients demonstrated a 44% reduction in progression-free survival (PFS) and a 75% decrease in overall survival (OS) compared to participants in clinical trials.

The study titled “Comparison of the Efficacy in Clinical Trials Versus Effectiveness in the Real-World of Treatments for Multiple Myeloma: A Population-Based Cohort Study” explores the gap between clinical trial efficacy and real-world effectiveness of treatments for multiple myeloma.

Conducted by a team led by Dr. Alissa Visram, the research focused on assessing the outcomes of patients treated with standard-of-care multiple myeloma regimens in routine practice compared to those in registration phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Key Findings:

Efficacy-Effectiveness Gap: Real-world (RW) patients experienced a 44% worse progression-free survival (PFS) and a 75% worse overall survival (OS) compared to RCT patients across various multiple myeloma regimens.
Patient Characteristics: RW patients were generally older, and for relapsed regimens, there was a longer time between multiple myeloma diagnosis and the start of the regimen in the real-world compared to RCTs.
Regimen Performance: Most multiple myeloma regimens evaluated showed worse PFS and OS in the real-world setting, except for pomalidomide/dex (Pd), which demonstrated a trend towards better performance.
Safety Profile: The safety profile, measured by inpatient hospitalization rates during treatment, was comparable between the real-world cohort and reported serious adverse events (AEs) in RCTs.

Implications: The study emphasizes the significant efficacy-effectiveness gap between registration RCTs and real-world usage of multiple myeloma regimens. The findings underscore the importance of ongoing evaluation of real-world data to inform clinicians and patients for shared treatment decision-making.

Find out more

This link will take you to an external site

Patient Stories by Multiple Myeloma Type

Explore our multiple myeloma stories below, where patients describe things like:

First myeloma symptoms
What treatments they underwent
Living with multiple myeloma

Active myeloma

Clay D.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma
1st Symptoms: Persistent kidney issues, nausea
Treatment: chemo, radiation, stem cell transplant
...

Melissa V.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, stage 3
1st Symptoms: Frequent infections
Treatment: IVF treatment & Chemotherapy (RVD) for 7 rounds
...

Elise D.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, refractory
1st Symptoms: Lower back pain, fractured sacrum
Treatment: CyBorD, Clinical trial of Xpovio (selinexor)+ Kyprolis (carfilzomib) + dexamethasone
...

Marti P.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, stage 3

1st Symptoms: Dizziness, confusion, fatigue, vomiting, hives

Treatment: Chemotherapy (Bortezomib/Velcade), Daratumumab/ Darzalex, Lenalidomide, Revlimid) and stem cell transplant
...

Ray H.

1st signs: Hemorrhoids, low red blood cell count
Treatment: Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, Stem Cell Transplant
...

Valarie T.

Symptoms: Nose bleeds, fatigue, back pain
Treatment: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant
...

Jenny A.

Symptoms: Nose bleeds, fatigue, back pain
Treatment: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant
...

Keith G.

Symptoms: High levels of protein
Treatment: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant
...

Julie C.

Symptoms: Queasiness, food aversions, lack of appetite, fatigue
Treatment: Stem cell transplant, chemotherapy (D+PD), bispecific antibodies (talquetamab & cevostamab)
...

Erin H.

Symptoms: Back pains
Treatment: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant
...

Gregory P.

Symptoms: Back pains
Treatment: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant
...

Laura E.

Symptom: Increasing back pain
Treatments: Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, bispecific antibodies
...

Typical myeloma

The majority of people diagnosed with myeloma fall under this category:

IgG k (kappa)
IgG λ (lambda)
IgA k (kappa)
IgA λ (lambda)

Scott C.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, relapsed/refractorySubtype: IgG lambda (majorityof myelomas)
1st Symptoms: Pain in hips and ribs, night sweats, weight loss, nausea
Treatment: Clinical trial, chemo, kyphoplasty, stem cell transplant

Jude A.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, stage 3
1st Symptoms: Pain in back, hips and ribs; difficulty walking
Treatment: Bilateral femoral osteotomy, reversal due to infection; chemotherapy

Light chain myeloma

It’s estimated that light chain myeloma makes up about 15% of all myeloma diagnoses. There are times when malignant plasma cells produce only the light chain component of the antibody. Patients diagnosed with these cases have what’s known as “light chain myeloma.”

Carlos C.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, Light Chain, Stage 2
1st Symptoms: Back pain and spasms
Treatment: Back surgery to fuse T1 and T2, chemotherapy (RVD) and stem cell transplant

Non-secretory myeloma

Beth A.

Diagnosis: Multiple myeloma, relapsed/refractory
Subtype: Non-secretory (1-5% of myelomas)
1st Symptoms: Extreme pain between shoulder blades, sternum, head, burning sensation
1st Line Treatment: VAD chemo, radiation, stem cell transplant
RR Treatment: 8 chemo regimens, successful combo→selinexor+bortezomib+dexamethasone

Inactive myeloma

Smoldering myeloma

Maui B.

Diagnosis: Smoldering myeloma
Cancer Details: Smoldering myeloma is pre-symptomatic or pre-treatment multiple myeloma
1st Symptoms: Inflammatory eye disease, uterine bleeding
Treatment: N/A
...

Tags ash 2023, ash article, ash mm, multiple myeloma

Medical Experts

Should Cancer Patients Reconsider CAR T-cell Therapy?

Post author By Jenna Jones
Post date December 9, 2023
No Comments on Should Cancer Patients Reconsider CAR T-cell Therapy?

Should Cancer Patients Reconsider CAR T-cell Therapy?

Explore CAR T-cell therapy insights with Dr. Joshua Brody amid FDA investigation.

https://youtu.be/swIpc_DeMtM

The headlines about the recent FDA investigation into CAR T-cell therapy have raised questions about the cancer treatment for many patients.

To provide some answers, we sat down with Dr. Joshua Brody, Director of the Lymphoma Immunotherapy Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, at the ASH conference in San Diego 2023.

As background, the FDA is investigating T-cell malignancies associated with BCMA- or CD19-directed autologous CAR T-cell immunotherapies.

Dr. Brody addresses pertinent questions about CAR T-cell therapy. Given the ongoing evaluation of the identified risk of T-cell malignancy and the potential serious outcomes, including hospitalization and death, patients and their caregivers must stay updated.

In this Q&A with Dr. Brody, we aim to empower patients to make informed decisions. Understanding the risks and benefits, the personalized nature of the treatment, and the latest advancements in cancer immunotherapy become paramount.

What prompted the recent FDA investigation into CAR T-Cell therapy?

Dr. Joshua Brody: The FDA starting a new investigation because of some new data. And the data was that there were a total of 20 reported cases of a bad type of lymphoma called T cell lymphoma, that occurred in patients who had previously gotten CAR T-cell therapy.

Why is this investigation considered significant?

Dr. Brody: While 20 cases out of 30,000 might seem small, it’s crucial to investigate further to ensure the accuracy of these numbers and determine if there might be another 20 cases that we haven’t heard about yet.

Can you provide insights from a specific case that is being discussed at ASH?

Dr. Brody: It involved a patient with myeloma, not Dlbcl, who got CAR T-cell therapy. And in that case, it sounded very clear that the T cell lymphoma that they got months to a year after the CAR T-cell was because of the CAR T-cell therapy, not just a coincidence.

What are the known risks associated with CAR T-cell therapy?

Dr. Brody: The risks of CAR T-cell therapy we know about, are still probably of greater consequence for our patients than this super rare, but now new and therefore kind of exciting and interesting thing.

How does the risk of T cell lymphoma compare to other potential side effects?

Dr. Brody: If you have lymphoma, you’re probably going to get some therapy one type or another. And all of these therapies have some risks. So this new thing, the T cell lymphoma that developed in some number of people after the CAR T-cell therapy is still proportionally a very small risk compared to these other things.

Should patients alter their plans for CAR T-cell therapy based on this information?

Dr. Brody: So I don’t think that people should have to change their plans or pump the brakes on that plan, but they surely should have the conversation with their oncologist, their lymphoma doctor, as there are different types of monitoring that we should do afterwards just to keep an eye out for this.

Is there any identified higher-risk group for developing T-cell lymphoma?

Dr. Brody: Not that we know of yet.

Why was the occurrence of T-cell lymphoma not entirely unexpected?

Dr. Brody: This side effect was both surprising and should not actually be super surprising. Because CAR T is a type of gene therapy.

How does the risk of T-cell lymphoma compare to other therapy-induced cancers?

Dr. Brody: So it is kind of related. But just again, a pretty rare thing.

What questions should patients be asking about their treatment options?

Dr. Brody: Patients should be asking, you know, what’s right for me specifically. That answer may have been clear five years ago, CAR T-cell was, you know, the immunotherapy now, maybe bispecific antibodies by themselves or maybe bispecific antibodies in combination with some standard therapies.

Can you elaborate on the process of CAR T-cell therapy and its personalized nature?

Dr. Brody: So you sit there on the Leukapheresis machine for maybe four hours, and we get some T cells from that, some of your immune cells, and they send those T cells to one of the manufacturing labs, and they take those T cells and put this gene inside. And the gene is called a car.

CAR T-cell therapy is both immune therapy and gene therapy. We have patients give some blood. It’s a little more than the normal, you know, blood poke in an arm because we do this thing called pheresis or leukapheresis. You give some blood, we keep one part of it and then give you back all the blood so you’re not too drained afterward.

What is the significance of the personalized aspect of CAR T-cell therapy?

Dr. Brody: CAR T-cell therapy is a personalized product made for each person. And then before we re-infuse those CAR T-cells, people get some chemotherapy right beforehand. And that chemotherapy sometimes call it lymphodepleting chemotherapy.

Explore More from Medical Experts

David Miklos, MD

Date: Jan. 2021
Focus: Who benefits from CAR T, ZUMA-2 clinical trial, Stanford's CAR 22 Work
Provider: Stanford Medical

DLBCL Patient Stories

Lena V., Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Stage 1

Symptoms: Blood in urine
Treatment: Surgery, chemotherapy (R-CHOP), radiation

Cindy M., Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Stage 4

Symptoms: Itchy skin on the palms and soles of feet; yellow skin and eyes
Treatment: Chemotherapy (R-CHOP)

Harriet C., Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (DLBCL) Cancer Diagnosis: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)Symptoms: Weight loss, difficulty walking, stomach pain, feeling unwell Treatment: Chemotherapy, EPOCH, methotrexate

Sammie F., Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (DLBCL) Cancer Diagnosis: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)Symptoms: Chest pain, back pain, bump on neck, night sweats Treatment: Chemotherapy, CAR T-Cell therapy

Alesia A., Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) Cancer Diagnosis: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)Symptoms: Fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling, night sweats, anxiety Treatment: Chemotherapy

Tony W., Relapsed T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich Large B-Cell Lymphoma (T/HRBCL)

1st Symptoms: A lot of effort needed cycling, body wasn’t responding the same; leg swelling
Treatment: R-CHOP chemotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy

Jonathan S., Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Severe shoulder pain
Treatment: 6 rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy, 10 rounds of methotrexate, 12 rounds of focal radiation, autologous stem cell transplant

Leanne T., Follicular Lymphoma Transformed to DLBCL, Stage 3B

1st Symptoms: Fatigue, persistent cough
Treatment: R-CHOP chemotherapy, 6 rounds

Paige C., Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Stage 4

Symptoms: Weight loss, extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes in the neck
Treatment: R-EPOCH chemotherapy

Stephanie Chuang

Stephanie Chuang, founder of The Patient Story, celebrates five years of being cancer-free. She shares a very personal video diary with the top lessons she learned since the Non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis.

Kris W., Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Pain in the side of the abdomen
Treatment: R-CHOP chemotherapy

Robyn S., Relapsed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Stage 2E

Symptoms: Enlarged lymph nodes
Treatments: Chemotherapy: R-CHOP, R-ICE, intrathecal, BEAM; autologous stem cell transplant, head and neck radiation, CAR T-cell therapy

Barbara R., Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Abdomen and gastric pain

Treatment: Chemotherapy R-CHOP, CAR T-cell therapy, study drug CYT-0851

Luis V., Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Persistent cough, fatigue, unexplained weight loss

Treatment: Chemotherapy R-CHOP and methotrexate

Nina L., Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Hip and lower extremities pain, night sweats
Treatment: Chemotherapy R-CHOP

Richard P., Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma & DLBCL

1st Symptoms of relapse: Swelling in leg, leg edema Treatment:1st line - R-CHOP chemotherapy, 2nd line - clinical trial of venetoclax-selinexor

Shahzad B., Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Extreme fatigue
Treatment: R&B, R-ICE, R-EPOCH, CAR T-cell therapy (cell-based gene therapy)
FDA approved: October 2017

Erin R., DLBCL & Burkitt Lymphoma, Stage 4

Cancer details: Characteristics of both subtypes
1st Symptoms: Lower abdominal pain, blood in stool, loss of appetite
Treatment: Chemotherapy (Part A: R-CHOP, HCVAD, Part B: Methotrexate, Rituxan, Cytarabine)

Emily G., Diffuse Large B-Cell (DLBCL), Stage 4

1st Symptoms: Pain in left knee
Treatment: R-CHOP chemo (6 cycles), high-dose methotrexate chemo (3 cycles)

Tags ash 2023, ash article, ash lymphoma, CLL article, dlbcl article

What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

A leading oncologist offers clarity on leukemia vs. lymphoma

What is the Difference Between Lymphoma and Leukemia?

Blood Cancer Oncologists & Experts

How Long Can You Live with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia?

Dr. Adam Kittai and Dr. Joanna Rhodes share their thoughts on CLL life expectancy

How long can individuals live with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and what factors contribute to the variation in life expectancy?

Could you elaborate on the significance of changes in white blood cell count for individuals with CLL?

What can you tell us about specific survival rates and life expectancy for people with CLL?

How do you approach discussing survival statistics with patients, considering the emotional impact it may have?

Dr. Kittai, can you share some insights on what to expect regarding survival rates for individuals with CLL??

CLL Patient Stories

Worse Outcomes for Myeloma Patients in Real-World Results vs. Clinical Trials

Find out more

Patient Stories by Multiple Myeloma Type

Active myeloma

Typical myeloma

Light chain myeloma

Non-secretory myeloma

Inactive myeloma

Smoldering myeloma

Should Cancer Patients Reconsider CAR T-cell Therapy?

Explore CAR T-cell therapy insights with Dr. Joshua Brody amid FDA investigation.

Explore More from Medical Experts

DLBCL Patient Stories

Join Our Community