title: In pursuit of a moving target: nanotherapeutics for the treatment of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is diagnosed in 70,000 Americans annually. Chemotherapy was the standard course of treatment until the addition of the monoclonal antibody (mAb) drug, rituximab, to therapy regimens in 1997. Although disease prognosis has improved dramatically since that time, nearly 20,000 patients succumb annually to the disease, with an average life expectancy beyond diagnosis of only 12 years. The advent of nanomedicine may fulfill the remaining need for novel therapy capable of eradicating solid tumor and disseminated B-cell lymphomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review details the current landscape of B-cell NHL and nanoparticles now being developed for its treatment. Specifically, we discuss lipid, polymer and metal nanoparticles that deliver an array of drugs, including toxins, chemotherapeutic agents and nucleic acids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because B-cell malignancies have responded quite well to new components in multi-drug regimens, nanomedicines that are mechanistically distinct from existing therapies hold significant promise. In our opinion, advancement of these technologies into the clinic will likely require significantly more effective targeting systems coupled with a better understanding of lymphoma biology. Furthermore, it is important for researchers to recognize the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of NHL and to develop therapeutic strategies for distinct subsets of NHL before attempting to generalize approaches.
authors.affiliation: Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Chemical Engineering , 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 , USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Whitehead
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008081:Liposomes; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone
keywords: antibody; drug delivery; liposome; nanotechnology; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; targeting