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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Flow-sorting and Exome Sequencing of the Reed-Sternberg Cells of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Published on: June 10, 2017
Nonlinear pharmacokinetics of rituximab in non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A pilot study
David Ternant1,2, Hélène Monjanel3, Yann Venel4
1EA 7501 GICC, Université de Tours, Tours, France.
Aims:
Rituximab is an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody approved in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This study aimed to assess the relationship between antigen mass and nonlinear pharmacokinetics of rituximab in NHL patients.
Methods:
In a retrospective cohort of 25 NHL patients treated with rituximab, antigen mass was assessed at baseline by measuring metabolic tumour volume (MTV) by positron emission tomography. Rituximab pharmacokinetics was described using a semimechanistic 2-compartment model including a latent target antigen. Rituximab target-mediated elimination was described as irreversible binding between rituximab and it target. Histology (follicular or diffuse large B-cell lymphomas), initial MTV and body weight were tested as covariates on pharmacokinetic parameters.
Results:
The model allowed a satisfactory description of rituximab serum concentrations. Target-mediated elimination was maximum at the beginning of treatment and became negligible towards the end of follow-up. The second-order elimination of rituximab due to target binding and complex elimination increased with baseline MTV. Central volume of distribution increased with body weight (P = .022) and baseline MTV (P = .005).
Conclusions:
This study quantified for the first time the target-mediated elimination of rituximab in NHL patients and confirmed rituximab retention by antigen mass.
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