title: Milatuzumab: a promising new agent for the treatment of lymphoid malignancies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma are often incurable and respond to a limited set of treatment options. The selective expression of CD74, the invariant chain of the MHC class II molecule, in these malignancies provides an attractive target for antibody-based therapy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This review evaluates the preclinical data for milatuzumab, a humanized antibody targeting CD74, as a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and multiple myeloma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of the literature was carried out using PubMed. Current Phase I protocols using milatuzumab are summarized.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Milatuzumab is cytotoxic to lymphoma and multiple myeloma cell lines and mouse-human xenografts. The efficacy dramatically increases when milatuzumab is attached to a toxin or a radioactive agent. Phase I trials of milatuzumab are now underway in human subjects with lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
authors.affiliation: Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, 525 East 68th Street, NY 10021, USA. tom9009@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: Tomer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Niesvizky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; C045084:invariant chain; C540932:milatuzumab