Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kuehnle, Ingrid
• Huls, M. Helen
• Liu, Zhensheng
• Semmelmann, Micah
• Krance, Robert A.
• Brenner, Malcolm K.
• Rooney, Cliona M.
• Heslop, Helen E.

Titel

CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab) for therapy of Epstein-Barr virus lymphoma after hemopoietic stem-cell transplantation

Ist Teil von

• Blood, 2000-02, Vol.95 (4), p.1502-1505

Ort / Verlag

Washington, DC: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• After bone marrow transplantation (BMT) using T-cell–depleted marrow from an unrelated donor or HLA-mismatched related donor, the risk of developing lymphoproliferative disease associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) ranges from 1% to 25%. We have shown that administration of donor-derived EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) is effective prophylaxis and treatment for this complication, and we routinely generate CTL for high-risk patients. However, EBV lymphoma can occur in recipients of matched-sibling transplants for whom CTL are unavailable or in patients for whom CTL administration is contraindicated. We report on 3 such patients, who were successfully and safely treated with rituximab, a CD20 monoclonal antibody. The patients remain disease free 7, 8, and 9 months, respectively, after therapy. We conclude that CD20 antibody may be a useful alternative treatment strategy in patients with EBV lymphoma after BMT.