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| Site Navigation | Monoclonal Antibody Therapy: Rituxan |
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| Rituxan (generic
name Rituximab, British trade name MabThera) is a newer monoclonal
antibody for follicular or refractory low grade NHL. It has received
FDA approval in the United States, approval in the UK, and is being approved by other
countries. How it works: Ninety percent of B-cell lymphomas (lymphomas where the cancerous cell is the B lymphocyte) have a site on them called the CD20 antigen. This is like a puzzle piece, waiting for a molecular linkup with another substance. IDEC Pharmaceuticals developed the anti CD20 antibody IDEC-C2B8 which links up to the antigen site on the B-cell. This allows Rituxan to target B lymphocytes and not other cells in the body which do not have the CD20 antigen site. Effectiveness: In trials, researchers found that almost 50% of patients responded to the treatment with full or partial remission. Side Effects: The majority of patients experience infusion-related symptoms with their first Rituxan infusion. These symptoms include but are not limited to, flu-like fever, chills/rigors, nausea, uticaria, headache, bronchospasm, angioedema and hypotension. These symptoms vary in severity and generally are reversible with medical intervention. From the warnings on the Rituxan sites: In rare instances, severe and fatal infusion-related reactions have occurred, nearly all of which have been associated with the first Rituxan infusion. These events appear as manifestations of an infusion-related complex and include hypoxia, pulmonary infiltrates, acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocardial infarction, ventricular fibrillation, cardiogenic shock and tumor lysis syndrome. Patients who develop clinically significant infusion-related cardiopulmonary events should have their Rituxan infusion discontinued and receive medical treatment. In rare instances, severe mucocutaneous skin reactions have occurred that may be associated with Rituxan therapy. Many of these reactions have been described as paraneoplastic pemphigus and are known to be associated with various B-cell lymphomas, particularly NHL and CLL. Patients who develop a severe mucocutaneous skin reaction should have Rituxan discontinued and receive appropriate medical treatment including a skin biopsy to guide therapy. Current Efforts: Researchers are studying the combination of Rituxan with other treatments (such as CHOP chemotherapy) for better effectiveness (see video section below). This is often called R-CHOP or CHOP-R. IDEC is currently testing Zevalin, a combination of Rituxan and the radioisotope yttrium-90. Manufacturers:
Links for more information on Rituxan:
Experiences
Patient Assistance
Multimedia Resources ( new)
For more information on Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, please see the following pages: :
Other pages you may want to visit: This page is a work in progress - if you have more complete information, references, or other information please contact the author. The author is not in the medical field and does not warrant the correctness of the material on this page or the sites linked - please take online information and consult with your own medical team to make informed decisions. Copyright © 1998-2005 Lymphoma Information
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