Novel target and treatment agents for natural killer/T-cell lymphoma

The rapidly increasing use of high-throughput screening had produced a plethora of expanding knowledge on the molecular basis of natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), which in turn has revolutionized the treatment. Specifically, the use of asparaginase-containing regimens has led to substantial improvement in survival outcomes in NKTCL patients. Novel treatment strategies that are currently under development include cell-surface-targeted antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, Epstein-Barr virus targeted cytotoxic T lymphocyte, immunomodulatory agents, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, signaling pathway inhibitors and epigenetic targeted agents. In almost all cases, initial clinical studies of newly developed treatment are conducted in patients relapsed, and refractory NKTCL due to very limited treatment options. This review summarizes the results of these novel treatments for NKTCL and discusses their potential for likely use in NKTCL in a wider setting in the future.