Seminars in oncology
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Seminars in oncology · Oct 1999
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialCHOP plus rituximab chemoimmunotherapy of indolent B-cell lymphoma.
Indolent (low-grade) B-cell lymphomas are responsive to single-agent and combination chemotherapy agents, but unfortunately possess an incurable, relapsing nature. Novel agents and innovative treatment approaches need to be evaluated in these patients, with the ultimate goals of maintaining good quality of life and prolonging overall survival. Novel combinations of chemotherapeutic agents, monoclonal antibodies (both unlabeled and radiolabeled), and anti-idiotypic vaccine therapies are currently being evaluated. ⋯ A 95% overall response (55%, complete remission; 40%, partial remission) rate using strict definitions for complete remission and extensive staging studies was achieved in a 40-patient intent-to-treat group. In addition, seven of seven patients with follicular histologies achieving complete remission also had clearing of BCL-2 (chromosome 14;18 translocation) positivity from blood and marrow by sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay, suggesting the eradication of subclinical minimal residual disease. Based on its single-agent efficacy, excellent toxicity profile, and ability to be successfully combined with combination chemotherapy (ie, CHOP), rituximab is currently undergoing extensive investigation in a large number of worldwide clinical trials to determine its optimal use in the treatment of CD20-positive neoplasms.
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Seminars in oncology · Oct 1999
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialRituximab in indolent lymphoma: the single-agent pivotal trial.
Rituximab (Rituxan; IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, and Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, CA) is a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that targets mature B cells and most B-cell malignancies. Rituximab was the first monoclonal antibody to be approved for therapeutic use for any malignancy. ⋯ The overall results of the trial have been previously reported; additional aspects of the trial (eg, pharmacokinetics) have been reported separately as well. The current report includes an update, expansion, and synthesis of data from the single-agent pivotal trial of rituximab.