INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or NHL, is one of the most common cancers – one in 43 men and one in 53 women will be diagnosed with it. There are more than 60 sub-types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for one of the most common types.

Renee Bentson has been raising tortoises for decades.

“Speedy is his name. When we got him, they told us he was 50 years old,” Bentson said about her beloved pet.

They make her happy and that’s important after the rough few years she’s had.

“I had swollen glands, and at the time, my husband had been diagnosed with heart failure and so, I just didn’t wanna say anything. Then one day I was doing my hair and there was a lump on right here on my arm,” Bentson said.

Diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, or FL – a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma affecting the body’s immune B-cells – Bentson underwent four different immunotherapy trials.

Bentson said, “Every one was successful in the beginning.”

But all failed in the end. Then, a new trial led by a City of Hope hematology and hematopoietic cell Transplantation specialist, Dr. Elizabeth Budde, became available. Bentson was one of the first patients to sign up for the new bispecific antibody treatment.

“It really grabs the T-cells and redirect the T-cells to the neighborhood of the lymphoma cells,” Budde said.

Mosunetuzumab is given intravenously for eight to 17 cycles.

The doctor added, “So now, they’re able to see the target know direct into the target. So, the T-cells are activated, and they killed up the targets as directed.”

In the trial, 80% of patients responded to treatment, 60% are in complete remission. The FDA has given accelerated approval to Mosunetuzumab for patients experiencing relapsed follicular lymphoma. Ongoing clinical trials are exploring its application as an injectable treatment, either at an earlier stage in the therapeutic process or in combination with other medications.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.