Successful treatment of gastrointestinal follicular lymphoma with rituxan and combination chemotherapy.
The clinical course of follicular lymphoma (FL) is well known. Although it is a chemosensitive disease, thereby allowing substantial palliation, recurrence is the rule; only a small subset who presents with limited stage disease is cured. Multiple attempts have been made over the past two decades to improve the survival of patients with FL, and a large number of phase III trials have been reported. These have included a variety of different therapeutic interventions, such as combination chemotherapy, recombinant interferons, new cytotoxic drugs, and immunologic agents. Most studies have not demonstrated that the use of a particular therapy convincingly prolongs survival. Follicular lymphoma cells express CD20 and are associated in most cases with the t(14:18) chromosomal translocation. Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against the B-cell CD20 antigen, which has been utilized for the therapy of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rituximab was shown to be active in FL, and studies of its effectiveness in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy to increase the response rate are forthcoming.
Al-Salman
J
J
Easton Hospital, PA 18042, USA. jsalman@hotmail.com
Salib
H
H
Boonswang
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007078:Ileal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D000069283:Rituximab; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone