Classification and clinical course of low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with overview of therapy.

Low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) presents a formidable treatment challenge to oncologists. This review evaluates the various methods of disease and patient management. The natural history of various subtypes of low-grade NHL and the classification according to the National Cancer Institute Working Formulation are discussed in this review. Additionally, the various therapies in use; radiotherapy alone and combined with chemotherapy, chemotherapy with single alkylating agents such as chlorambucil and combination therapies, autologous and allogenic bone marrow transplantation, and therapy with purine analogs, such as chlorodeoxyadenosine and fludarabine. Patient survival in various studies using these treatment modalities are discussed. Treatment options need to be combined with the use of prognostic models, such as the International Index for optimal care of this difficult-to-treat group of patients.