ONCOLOGY Vol 14 No 3

One of the unfortunate consequences of solid organ or bone marrow transplantation is the occurrence of a post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). These tumors run a variable course; some regress with a reduction in the doses of immunosuppressive agents, whereas others progress to an aggressive NHL and require systemic therapy. Chemotherapy has been relatively unsuccessful against such tumors, and the outcome is generally fatal.

Mantle cell lymphoma is one of the most challenging of the NHLs. It exhibits the worst features of both the indolent and aggressive lymphomas. With its short survival of 2 ½ to 3 years, mantle cell lymphoma resembles an aggressive NHL, but,

Leonard et al (abstract #404) described their experience with a new humanized anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody, epratuzumab. This antibody has previously been studied conjugated to both iodine-131 and yttrium-90 in the treatment of

A number of mechanisms of action for rituximab have been proposed,includingantibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, complement-mediated cytotoxicity, induction of apoptosis, recruitment of effector cells, and elaboration of cytokines

Unfortunately, even with the high response rates achieved by rituximab relapse is inevitable. With traditional chemotherapeutic regimens, retreatment using the same or similar agents results in lower response rates, and the duration of

Monoclonal antibody therapy has proven to be expensive, and, therefore, it is important to compare the cost-efficacy of a drug such as rituximab with other standard therapies for low-grade lymphoma. Two abstracts presented at the 1998 ASH

One important future direction for rituximab (Rituxan) is to expand its therapeutic role into other CD-positive disorders. Rituximab induces responses in up to one-third of patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

At the 1999 ASH meeting, Vose et al (abstract #387) analyzed the overall multicenter experience with iodine-131 tositumomab in 179 patients as a function of histologic subtype. The overall response rate was 81%, with 39% CRs . The median time to progression for responders was 13 months, with a median duration of response of 11 months, although the median duration of CRs was 57 months. The response rates for the follicular small cleaved cell NHL and follicular mixed (follicular grades I and II) were similar (83% and 78%, respectively), as were the CR rates (38% and 39%, respectively). These histologies have shown similar responses to various chemotherapy regimens in most studies.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the use of photosensitizing agents that are selectively retained within tumor cells. The agents remain inactive until exposed to light of the proper wavelength. When activated by light, these

Venous thromboembolism is a common complication in patients with cancer. The management of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism can be a considerable challenge in these patients. Diagnosing venous

Most patients with advanced-stage follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) are not cured with conventional therapy. The use of high-dose therapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with relapsed follicular

Meta-analysis is a systematic, quantitative approach to the combination of data from several clinical trials that address the same question. This analytic approach can help resolve questions that remain unclear from the results

Since hepatocellular carcinoma almost always develops in patients with underlying hepatitis or cirrhosis of the liver, it cannot be viewed as a single disease. Not only does the biology of the cancer vary depending on the underlying etiology of the liver disease-hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or cirrhosis of another etiology-but also patient outcomes are determined by the interplay between tumor growth and

Iodine-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) is a new radioimmunotherapy in development for the treatment of patients with low-grade or transformed low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The data from five phase I-III studies, which enrolled patients with low-

Tositumomab and iodine -131 tositumomab (Bexxar) is a new radioimmunotherapy in development for the treatment of low-grade or transformed, low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

We previously reported that “in vivo purging” with rituximab (Rituxan) during stem-cell collection is safe and does not adversely affect engraftment. We now report on our transplant experience with rituximab. From June 1998 to December

Freedman et al provide an extensive overview of the literature on high-dose therapy and transplantation in follicular non-Hodgkin’s

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas account for only 5% of NHLs, and yet they represent the most common low-grade lymphoma involving the stomach. Gastric MALT lymphomas tend to occur in association with