Clinical Medicine Reviews in Oncology

Rituximab, a genetically engineered chimeric monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to CD20, is the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma. The addition of rituximab to chemotherapy has improved progression-free survival and overall survival for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma. Rituximab-CHOP therapy is the new standard therapy in elderly and young, low-risk DLBCL patients. For young, high-risk DLBCL patients, treatment that incorporates rituximab and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been administered in clinical studies. Rituximab maintenance therapy for DLBCL is not effective at present. On the other hand, when active treatment is required in patients with follicular lymphoma, rituximab-chemotherapy is now the optimal treatment. In follicular lymphoma, randomized controlled trials of rituximab-chemotherapy show lengthened time to progression but, as yet, no improvement in overall survival.