Significant Adverse Consequences of Initial Watchful Waiting for Follicular Lymphoma Patients: A Retrospective Analysis of Patients Diagnosed in Alberta from 1994-2011

Background Watchful waiting (WW) is a widely accepted approach for asymptomatic patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) as studies have shown no survival differences between WW and immediate chemotherapy in the pre-Rituximab (R) era. The risk of WW is progressive disease resulting in significant organ dysfunction or transformation to aggressive histology lymphoma, potentially impacting quality of life and success of subsequent therapy relative …