title: Two cases of interstitial pneumonitis caused by rituximab therapy.
abstract: Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against CD20, has become a part of the standard therapy for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma either in combination with other drugs or as a single agent. The CD20 antigen is expressed on 95% of B-cell lymphoma cells and normal B-cells but, is not found on precursor B-cells or stem cells. Rituximab is now approved for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma when combined with standard CHOP chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) or patients with follicular lymphoma who have failed first line chemotherapy. The monoclonal antibody is generally well tolerated. Most of the adverse events are infusion-associated, mild to moderate non-hematological toxicities. Severe respiratory adverse events have been infrequent. Here, we report two patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in whom interstitial pneumonitis developed with rituximab therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon Medical School, Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Yuna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kyung
authors.forename: Soo Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Soo-Mee
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Seong Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Dong Bok
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jae Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab; D011239:Prednisolone; D008775:Methylprednisolone