Two recent FDA approvals have prompted the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) to update the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas to include ofatumumab (Azerra(TM), GlaxoSmithKline) and romidepsin (Istodax(R), Gloucester Pharmaceuticals) as treatment options for select patients with two types of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas.

Ofatumumab was added to the NCCN Guidelines as a treatment option for relapsed/refractory disease in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with and without a 17p deletion. A 17p deletion refers to a chromosomal abnormality involving deletion of genetic material from chromosome 17. Ofatumumab was approved by the FDA on October 27, 2009 for patients with CLL, a slowly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, whose cancer is no longer responding to other chemoimmunotherapy regimens.

In addition, the updated NCCN Guidelines now include romidepsin as a suggested systemic treatment option for patients with mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome, two of the most common types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). On November 6, 2009, the FDA approved romidepsin, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, for the treatment of CTCL in patients who have received at least one prior systemic therapy.

These latest additions come shortly after another recent update to the NCCN Guidelines for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas that incorporated the FDA approval of pralatrexate (Folotyn(TM), Allos Therapeutics, Inc.) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) are developed and updated through an evidence-based process with explicit review of the scientific evidence integrated with expert judgment by multidisciplinary panels of physicians from NCCN Member Institutions.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

Source: National Comprehensive Cancer Network