The response rate of 48% with IDEC-C2B8 is comparable to results with single-agent cytotoxic chemotherapy. Toxicity was mild. Attention needs to be paid to the rate of antibody infusion, with titration according to toxicity. Further investigation of this agent is warranted, including its use in conjunction with standard chemotherapy.

Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index 2 is a simple prognostic index based on easily available clinical data and may represent a promising new tool for the identification of patients with FL at different risk in the era of immunochemotherapy.

SummaryBackground; Monoclonal antibodies are being utilized for treatment of patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as well as other cancers. Results from phase I and II clinical studies has shown that the chimeric monoclonal antibody Rituximab has minimal toxicity and significant therapeutic activity in low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.Patients and methods; We have recently reported on a multicentre pivotal phase III clinical trial involving 166 patients with recurrent low-grade lymphoma who were treated with four infusions of Rituximab. Eighty patients (48%) achieved objective responses including 10 patients (6%) with complete responses. Overall, 126 patients (76%) had a ^ 20% reduction in overall tumor size. The median response duration and time to progression are 11.6 and 13.2 months, respectively. The infusional and long term toxicities were limited.Results: In this report we describe the pharmacokinetic data obtained on these patients. Measurable concentrations of Rituximab were detected in all patients after the first infusion and increased throughout the treatment course. The half-life of

Rituximab plus hyper-CVAD alternating with rituximab plus high-dose methotrexate and cytarabine is effective in untreated aggressive MCL. Toxicity is significant but expected. Because of the shorter FFS concurrent with significant toxicity in patients more than 65 years of age, this regimen is not recommended as standard therapy for this age subgroup. Larger prospective randomized studies are needed to define the role of this regimen in the treatment of MCL patients compared with existing and new treatment modalities.

In this re-treatment population, safety and efficacy were not apparently different from those after initial rituximab exposure.