The prognosis of follicular lymphomas: The F2-project

Follicular lymphoma (FL) accounts for 10–15% of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in western countries. Although patients with FL experience a relatively indolent course and usually exhibit dramatic responses to initial therapy, they should be considered affected by a fatal malignancy. There is a tendency to relapse over time, the response to salvage treatments is of shorter duration after every relapse, and patients eventually die of disease-related causes. Several treatment approaches are offered to patients with FL; however, criteria to rationalize treatment decisions are still lacking in many instances.