Follicular lymphoma is a slow-growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can become harder to treat after it returns several times. When it is relapsed or refractory, CAR T-cell therapy may be an option. SinoUnited Health in Shanghai assesses patients with relapsed and refractory follicular lymphoma.
Plain, general information about the disease — the shared starting point before we get to treatment.
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is one of the most common slow-growing (indolent) types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It develops from B-lymphocytes — a type of white blood cell. Because it often grows slowly, some people live with it for years, and it is frequently treatable — going into remission after treatment, and sometimes needing no immediate treatment at all.
Follicular lymphoma commonly comes back, however, and each time it returns it can become harder to treat. When it no longer responds to treatment (refractory) or keeps returning (relapsed) after multiple lines of therapy, more intensive options — including CAR T-cell therapy — are considered.
Not a first treatment — a later option for a lymphoma that has relapsed or become refractory.
CAR T-cell therapy reprograms your own T-cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. For follicular lymphoma, the CAR T-cell therapies used internationally are directed at CD19, a protein on the surface of B-cells.
Because follicular lymphoma is usually slow-growing, CAR T-cell therapy is generally considered only after it has relapsed or become refractory following earlier treatments — not as a first treatment.
Whether CAR T-cell therapy is an option for you is decided from your records — start with a remote assessment.
Relma-cel is a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy approved in China for refractory follicular lymphoma, or follicular lymphoma that has relapsed within 24 months, after two or more prior lines of systemic therapy. It is administered at SinoUnited Health.
This indication has received conditional approval. Longer-term efficacy data will be provided through post-marketing studies.
About Relma-cel for follicular lymphomaA condition may be treated by more than one therapy, and a therapy may treat more than one condition — each therapy page links back to the conditions it's used for.
Eligibility is assessed from your records — which means you can find out where you stand before traveling.
The following information is for reference only. Final treatment decisions should be made by a qualified physician based on each patient's individual condition.
Not suitable if: active uncontrolled infection · severe organ dysfunction · hypersensitivity to product components or conditioning chemotherapy · active CNS disease (unless stable and tolerated per the therapy's label) · pregnancy or breastfeeding.
This is a general guide only. Whether CAR-T is right for you is a decision made by a qualified physician after reviewing your individual case.
Treatment happens across two trips to Shanghai, with the manufacturing weeks spent at home.
A first visit of around a week to collect your cells by apheresis, on-site.
About 1 week in ShanghaiYour CAR-T therapy is made while you return home.
3 to 4 weeksYou return for the infusion and monitored recovery under the clinical team.
About 3 weeks in ShanghaiAbout two months from first assessment to the end of treatment, with the manufacturing period spent at home.
See the full step-by-step journey →Kept deliberately separate: what is true of this class of therapy in general, and what SinoUnited provides.
CAR T-cell therapy has side effects that are anticipated and closely monitored — most commonly cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and sometimes neurological effects (ICANS). Most are manageable when caught early, which is why treatment is given as a supervised inpatient stay.
SinoUnited delivers infusion and recovery with on-site intensive care available if escalation is ever needed.
Tocilizumab, the standard treatment for severe cytokine release syndrome, is available on site.
5on-site ICUsPatients with relapsed and refractory follicular lymphoma are assessed at SinoUnited's CAR T-Cell Therapy Center by Dr. Lily Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Hematology, with a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF, 25 publications indexed in PubMed, and peer-reviewed research in CAR T-cell therapy.
Since 2024 the CAR T-Cell Therapy Center has treated more than 35 patients from twelve countries.
SinoUnited is also a member unit of the Ruijin Consortium of Blood Disease, led by Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University — one of China's leading hematology collaborations.
Dr. Zhou's publications are cited as evidence of her standing as a published physician. They are not, and must not be read as, a response rate, success rate, or an indication of outcomes across patients.
Read Dr. Zhou's profile
SinoUnited offers CAR-T as an all-inclusive “2+21” package — covering the collection stay and the three-week infusion stay. The full breakdown of what's included, and pricing, lives on the Costs page as a single source of truth.
CAR T-cell therapy is considered for follicular lymphoma that is relapsed or refractory after earlier treatments. Whether it is an option for you depends on your individual condition, which SinoUnited Health's team can assess remotely.
Follicular lymphoma is often indolent, but it commonly returns, and can become harder to treat with each relapse. CAR T-cell therapy is one of the more intensive options considered once it is relapsed or refractory.
Yes — SinoUnited's international care team reviews your records remotely, at no cost, before any travel.
A remote assessment by SinoUnited's international care team is free, and starts before you travel. Find out whether CAR-T is an option before you plan any trip.