Translating PFS Data for Patients: How Community Oncologists Communicate Trial Outcomes in RRFL

In this episode, 'Translating PFS Data for Patients: How Community Oncologists Communicate Trial Outcomes in RRFL,' Tara Graff, DO, MS explores the following question:

Progression-free survival is a central endpoint in follicular lymphoma trials. How do you translate PFS data into meaningful information for your patients, and how much weight do you give PFS improvements when selecting treatment at relapse?

Tara Graff described her approach to communicating PFS data with patients, explaining that rather than using clinical terminology, she frames progression-free survival in terms patients can connect with, presenting treatment options side by side and translating trial outcomes into plain language estimates of how long a given therapy is likely to keep their disease in remission. She also emphasized the importance of time to next therapy as a complementary and often underappreciated metric in follicular lymphoma conversations, noting that because FL is an indolent disease, patients may begin showing early signs of progression while still feeling well and maintaining their quality of life, meaning the interval between first signs of progression and the actual need for the next treatment can itself represent a meaningful period of disease-free living that deserves to be part of the patient conversation. Tara Graff underscored that for patients living with a chronic, relapsing disease like follicular lymphoma, both PFS and time to next therapy serve as important anchors in shared decision-making.

Throughout the conversation, the experts provide a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

The next episode in this series, 'Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab in the Community: Strengths, Limitations, and the Right Patient Profile,' features Tara Graff advancing her conversation on follicular lymphoma and focusing on which patients are the best candidates for R² in the second-line setting, the practical strengths and limitations of this regimen from a community oncology perspective, and how the combination's chemo-free profile and provider familiarity with lenalidomide helped drive its adoption in community practice.