IDEC-C2B8 anti-CD20 (Rituximab) immunotherapy in patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lymphoproliferative disorders: evaluation of response on 48 patients
Dt. Nguyen et al., IDEC-C2B8 anti-CD20 (Rituximab) immunotherapy in patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lymphoproliferative disorders: evaluation of response on 48 patients, EUR J HAEMA, 62(2), 1999, pp. 76-82
This study focused on the efficacy of IDEC-C2B8 (chimeric anti-CD20) immuno
therapy relative to specific subtypes of low-grade lymphoproliferative diso
rders/non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (LPD/NIIL). Forty-eight patients with resista
nt or relapsed disease completed the IDEC-C2B8 infusion schedule of 375 mg/
m(2)/wk x 4 wk. The LPD/NHL subtypes included: (a) follicular centre cell l
ymphoma (FCC) in 22 patients; (b) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in 10; (c) 1 d
iffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL); and (d) the category of small lymphocyti
c lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (SLL/CLL) and related disorders in
15 patients. No patient obtained a complete remission. Ten patients (21%)
achieved partial remission: 6 FCC, 2 MCL, 1 DLCL, and 1 patient from the SL
L/CLL group. Twenty-eight patients had stable disease and 10 progressed dur
ing immunotherapy. In patients with CLL and MCL in leukaemic phase, there w
as no correlation between the marked decrease in circulating neoplastic cel
ls following antibody infusions and amelioration of the tumour burden, The
results suggest that the subtype of LPD/NHL and the intensity of CD20 on th
e tumour cells influence the effectiveness of IDEC-C2B8. The antibody was m
ost efficacious against FCC lymphoma. The efficacy (at the dose schedule of
375 mg/m(2)/wk x 4) against MCL and SLL/CLL appeared to be limited. howeve
r.