Nursing a patient during and after 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) therapy.
Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a new cancer therapy that uses monoclonal antibodies to deliver targeted radiation to cancer cells, allowing multiple sites of disseminated disease to be treated simultaneously, while limiting toxicity to normal healthy tissue. 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan was the first RIT to be approved for the treatment of relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and consists of the anti-CD20 murine monoclonal antibody, ibritumomab, covalently bound to the linker tiuxetan, which securely chelates the radioactive isotope 90Y. Effective RIT demands a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, which places considerable emphasis on the role of the nurse. This review explores the role of the nurse in 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan therapy.
Clayton
Julie
J
Christie Hospital, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BX, UK. Julie.Clayton@christie-tr.nwest.nhs.uk
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications / Q000532:radiotherapy; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D011321:Primary Nursing; D016499:Radioimmunotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D015021:Yttrium Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015021:Yttrium Radioisotopes; C422802:ibritumomab tiuxetan