The care of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) greatly benefits from physicians in the community connecting and having relationships with physicians at tertiary care facilities. Similarly, community and patient education play an important role in supporting patients with MCL.

When treating patients with MCL, it is important to remember that patients trust their doctors, so doctors need to be supportive of their patients. Doctors also have to understand the different treatment options and clinical trials that are available to their patients, and they need to be supportive of their patients pursuing clinical trials.

I think that it is very important for doctors to connect with tertiary care providers to achieve this. For community-based physicians, reaching out to a tertiary center earlier is better to get more information and input. Even if a patient does not start out their treatment by enrolling in a clinical trial, this is something that they may want to consider later. So, getting the opinion of a specialist at a tertiary center early is important, even if the patient remains with their community-based physician for treatment. Additionally, community-based physicians may benefit from reaching out directly to tertiary care facilities that are offering clinical trials to get additional information about their recruitment status and whether a particular patient meets the inclusion criteria to qualify for enrollment. It is not always easy for community doctors to sort through this on their own, and it is important for them to have access to that information. I also think that doctors who are newly practicing and do not yet have an existing network would benefit from forming these connections, as they can be helpful in a general sense (ie, not only for clinical trials but also for second opinions).

To expand access to certain areas and groups of people who have been historically underserved, I think that it is key to engage the community. My institution has been very focused on patient navigators, who provide people with information on what they want and need. Patient navigators really help give patients some perspective on their treatment options and are a major factor in helping patients work through the available options. Another important aspect of our program is community education. It is very important for people to know about the disease in general and about clinical trials, and I think that this really helps get people engaged.