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Rituximab

Current Status as Therapy for Malignant and Benign Hematologic Disorders

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Abstract

Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting the pan-B-cell antigen CD20 and was the first monoclonal antibody approved for clinical use in the treatment of cancer. Since its first approval by the FDA in 1997, investigators have continued to explore a variety of clinical conditions in which rituximab has proven effective with minimal toxicity. Rituximab, as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy, has been studied extensively in untreated and relapsed/refractory settings as both induction and maintenance therapy for the treatment of CD20-positive lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, in addition to non-malignant hematologic disorders including autoimmune hemolytic anemia and immune thrombo-cytopenic purpura. Here we discuss the clinical development of rituximab with a review of the efficacy data from clinical trials and its current status in the practice of hematology and oncology.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are solely responsible for the development and writing of the manuscript. Genentech, Inc provided support only for third-party editorial assistance for this manuscript. A.B. Markowitz has served as a consultant and/or Speakers Bureau for Genentech, Inc.

Both N.E. Abdulla and M.J. Ninan contributed equally to the manuscript.

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  1. Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), JSA 4.164 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX, 77555-0565, USA

    Nihal E. Abdulla, Mary J. Ninan &  Avi B. Markowitz MD, FACP

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  1. Nihal E. Abdulla
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  3. Avi B. Markowitz MD, FACP
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Correspondence to Avi B. Markowitz MD, FACP.

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Abdulla, N.E., Ninan, M.J. & Markowitz, A.B. Rituximab. BioDrugs 26, 71–82 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2165/11599500-000000000-00000

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