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.
Rituxan is one of many treatment options for Lymphoma. If you are looking for some assistance with treatment options, there is a FREE tool available to help you understand your treatment options and possible side effects.Click here to sign up for FREE.
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.
Resources
Manufacturers:
Genentech http://www.gene.com/
E-mail medinfo@gene.com Hotline: +1 (800) 821-8590
Address: 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080-4990
Biogen Idec Pharmaceuticals Corporation 14 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142 Phone +1 (617) 679-2000
Other Contacts
RITUXAN Customer Service from Biogen Idec:
Telephone 800-551-2231 7:00 am - 5:00 pm (PST)
Medical Information: 800-821-8590 - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (US Pacific Standard Time)
Product Safety/Adverse Events: 650-225-7541 24 hour/7 day message line with pager, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm (PST)
Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Reimbursement: 888-249-4918 - 6:00 am - 5:00 pm (PST)
Links for more information on Rituxan:
Information on the monoclonal antibody Rituxan (Rituximab) by the manufacturer Genentech or see the dedicated site http://www.rituxan.com/
Full Prescribing Information
The Rituxan Timeline
Phase II Trial paper IDEC-C2B8 (Rituximab) Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody Therapy in Patients With Relapsed Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the journal Blood
Information on stage I/II trials of radiolabeled Rituxan IDEC-Y2B8.
Experiences
Patient Stories from Rituxan.com
Caroline Richmond writes of her experiences in the British Journal of Medicine (Dec 1998) (UK)
A good account of the 1998 Monoclonal Antibody Conference from Judy Gibson
Patient Assistance
Genentech does have a patient assistance program
Multimedia Resources
Expanding the Use of Rituxan in NHL Treatment – Video
Combining Rituxan and Chemotherapy: What are the Benefits? – Video
Rituximab plus CHOP vs. CHOP Alone: The Study and its Implications – Video
Smarter Drugs Deliver Radiation Directly to Lymphoma Cells - Video
Cancer Radiation Treatment From the Inside – Article
Radioimmunotherapy for Lymphoma: When Should It Be Used? – Video
Measuring Success with Targeted Therapy for NHL – Video
Radiotherapy: Safety Measures During Therapy – Video
Related Articles
For more information on Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, please see the following pages:
Lymphoma Information Network: Monoclonal Antibodies
Lymphoma Information Network: Immunotherapy
Adult Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma: Chemotherapy
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Treatment
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Resources
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Diagnosis
Lymphoma Classification and Types
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Aggressive NHLs
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Indolent NHLs
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Introduction
Other pages you may want to visit:
Lymphoma Information Network
Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Information Pages
