Radioisotopes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radioisotopes, including details on radioimmunotherapy, radionuclides, procedures, hazards.

Clinical development of radioimmunotherapy for B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Meredith RF, Knox SJ

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA. rmeredith@uabmc.edu

Over the past several decades, several biomolecules have been investigated for their ability to deliver radiation to cancer cells, but antibodies have been the carriers of choice in systemic targeted radionuclide therapy (STaRT). Two radioimmunotherapy agents that target the CD20 antigen, (131)I-tositumomab and (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and clinical trials have shown that they are effective as monotherapies in the salvage setting, producing response rates that are often higher and durations of response that are often longer than those with chemotherapy. Escalated doses of these agents can be supported with stem cell transplantation and can produce high rates of complete response and greater survival in patients with relapsed NHL. The quality and duration of responses are greater with radioimmunotherapy when it is used earlier in the course of treatment.

Published 18 September 2006 in Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 66(2): S15-22.
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