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Radioimmunotherapy of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
E J Postema1, O C Boerman, W J Oyen
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. e.postema@nugen.azn.nl
Abstract:
In the past decade, several new antibody-based therapies - using either radiolabelled or unlabelled monoclonal antibodies - have become available for the treatment of patients with refractory or recurrent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Unlabelled monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) kill lymphoma cells by activating host immune effector mechanisms, or by inducing apoptosis. These mAbs can also be used to guide radionuclides to the lymphoma. This radioimmunotherapy (RIT) has been studied with various nuclides (131I, 90Y, 67Cu and 186Re) and with various mAbs. In this review the radionuclides, methods of dosing and recent RIT studies in patients with B-cell NHL are reviewed. Most of these studies demonstrate that RIT is an effective new treatment modality for NHL.