Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas can be divided into two general categories: indolent lymphomas, which tend to grow relatively slowly, and aggressive lymphomas, which grow more rapidly. Indolent lymphomas include those classified as low-grade or follicular. Patients with indolent lymphomas often live for 10 years or more, but as their disease advances or transforms over time, it is usually not curable. Aggressive forms of lymphoma include diffuse large cell lymphoma and can be cured with current treatment regimens^[4].

Treatment options for adults with NHL depend on a number of factors. These may include the type of malignant cells involved, how fast the lymphoma is growing, the number of places in the body that lymphoma cells can be found (also called the stage), and the general health of the patient. Specific treatment options include the following^[3]:

• Watchful Waiting: Watchful waiting is a treatment strategy with no immediate intervention, but with careful monitoring of the patient for new or increasing signs and symptoms of the disease. Generally, watchful waiting is only an option for patients with certain types of indolent NHL.
• Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy utilizes high-energy X-rays strong enough to kill cancer cells and cause shrinkage of tumors. These high-energy X-rays are usually delivered by a machine outside the body, focused on lymphoma in the body. Radiation therapy may be used alone or in addition to chemotherapy, particularly when the tumor is located in one area.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy drugs may be given either in pill form or injected directly into the bloodstream, and are potentially toxic to any cell growing or dividing. Chemotherapy may involve treatment with a single drug or multiple drugs at the same time.
• Bone Marrow or Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant: Treatment includes very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation, or both, followed by replacement or reconstitution of the bone marrow with either the patient's own blood forming cells (autologous transplant) or those from another person (allogeneic transplant).
• Monoclonal Antibody Therapy (Immunotherapy): Monoclonal antibody therapy involves the use of a specially designed antibody (a component of the immune system), that can directly recognize tumor cells and cause their destruction.
• Radioimmunotherapy: Radioimmunotherapy is a treatment regimen involving a monoclonal antibody that has a radioisotope (an element that gives off radiation) attached to it. With radioimmunotherapy, the monoclonal antibody allows delivery of a targeted dose of radiation directly to the malignant cells. In what is called a crossfire effect, the radiation can also reach and destroy neighboring normal and cancer cells.

Other therapies currently under investigation include vaccines, gene-based therapies and treatments that interfere with cell growth signals.