Sarah was told her lymphoma was back—again. She’d tried two treatments already. Both worked—for a while. Then the cancer returned. Like many people with follicular lymphoma, she felt stuck. Options were running out.
Follicular lymphoma is a type of blood cancer. It grows slowly but often comes back after treatment. Over time, it can become resistant to standard therapies. About 20,000 people are diagnosed each year in the U.S. Most live for years, but each relapse makes the next treatment harder.
Many patients end up needing a third or even fourth therapy. But few options exist once earlier ones stop working. That’s why doctors are urgently searching for new paths.
A new drug may change that story for some.
What changed this time? Researchers tested a drug called abexinostat. It works differently than most lymphoma treatments. Instead of attacking cancer cells directly, it targets how genes are turned on or off inside them.
Think of cancer cells like a factory with broken switches. Abexinostat helps reset the switches so the cell can “remember” how to stop growing out of control. It’s like rebooting a computer that’s frozen.
This drug belongs to a class called histone deacetylase inhibitors. That’s a mouthful. But the idea is simple: it changes how DNA is packaged in the cell, which can slow or stop cancer growth.
The study included 90 patients with follicular lymphoma. All had tried at least two other treatments that failed. They took abexinostat by mouth—twice daily for seven days, then seven days off, repeating every 28 days.
Tumor responses were tracked by independent experts who didn’t know who was in the study. This helps keep results fair and accurate.
Results were encouraging. Tumors shrank in 69.5% of patients. That’s nearly 7 out of 10. Even better, 91.5% of patients had their disease controlled—meaning tumors didn’t grow for a significant time.
Some patients had complete remissions. Their scans showed no signs of cancer. That happened in 14.6% of cases—about 1 in 7.
Tumors got smaller in 89% of patients. The average time tumors stayed under control was nearly 14 months. Some people stayed in remission much longer.
Survival data is still early. But the average overall survival was 47 months—more than three years—and still not reached for many.
But there’s a catch.
Side effects were common. Most patients had low blood counts—especially platelets and white blood cells. This can raise the risk of bleeding or infection.
About 86% had low platelets. Nearly 59% had low neutrophils. These issues often required dose adjustments or treatment breaks. But most side effects were manageable.
Doctors say the results are promising—not because the drug cures everyone, but because it works when few other options do.
This doesn't mean this treatment is available yet.
Experts say this drug could become a new option for third-line treatment. That means after two other therapies have failed. But it’s not approved yet.
Right now, abexinostat is only available in clinical trials. Patients who’ve tried other treatments and are looking for new options should talk to their doctor about whether a trial might be right.
The study had limits. It didn’t compare abexinostat to other drugs. Everyone got the same treatment, so we can’t say it’s better than alternatives. Also, the group was relatively small.
Most participants were white and treated in specialized centers. That means results might look different in other populations.
Still, for a disease that keeps coming back, even a temporary win matters.
What happens next? Larger trials are needed. Researchers will likely test abexinostat against current standard treatments in a randomized way. That’s the next step before approval.
Drug development takes time. Even if results hold up, it could be several years before abexinostat becomes widely available—if it does.
But for patients running out of options, this study offers something real: hope of more time.