At a recent conference, CTI presented results from a study of Rituxan versus Rituxan plus pixantrone in 38 relapsed or refractory patients who had previously failed up to five prior treatments for indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Patients receiving the combination of Rituxan and pixantrone had an 87 percent overall improvement in Time to Progression compared to Rituxan alone (13.2 months vs. 8.1 months). The one- and two-year progression-free survival estimates were 66 percent and 44 percent for the pixantrone/Rituxan recipients compared to zero percent for the Rituxan patients. The study also showed the combo had better tumor response (>/= 50 percent shrinkage in tumor size). 75% of patients treated with the pixantrone/Rituxan combination achieved a major response, with 35 percent achieving a complete response. This compares to 33 percent major response in patients who received Rituxan alone, including 11 percent achieving a complete response. Side effects on pixantrone were generally mild with the exception of severe
treatment-related neutropenia, which was seen in two patients.
"Obviously we are very pleased and excited by these results, which demonstrate a significant advantage of adding pixantrone to the standard of care, Rituxan, in treating indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," noted Jack W. Singer, MD.
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