
Treatment of relapsed b-cell non-hodgkin's lymphoma with a combination of chimeric anti-cd20 monoclonal antibodies (rituximab) and g-csf: final report on safety and efficacy
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ABSTRACT Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is one of the possible mechanisms of action of the chimeric CD20 monoclonal antibody IDEC-C2B8 (rituximab). As granulocyte-colony
stimulating factor (G-CSF) greatly enhances the cytotoxicity of neutrophils in ADCC, the efficacy of rituximab might be enhanced by the addition of G-CSF. In a phase I/II clinical trial, we
investigated the safety and efficacy of the combination of rituximab and G-CSF (5 μg/kg/day, administered for 3 days, starting 2 days before each infusion) in 26 relapsed low-grade lymphoma
patients. Adverse events occurred in 25/26 patients and mainly consisted of (grade I/II) fever (29%) and allergic reactions (19%). In phases I and II (375 mg/m2 rituximab+G-CSF), 19 patients
were evaluable for efficacy. The response rate was 42% (8/19; 95% CI 20–67%), with 16% (3/19) complete remissions and 26% (5/19) partial remissions. The median duration of response was 18
months, the median time to progression was 24 months. We conclude that the combination of rituximab and G-CSF is well tolerated. Although the overall response rate seems comparable to that
reported for rituximab monotherapy, remission duration in this pilot phase II study is remarkably long. Randomized comparison with rituximab monotherapy should substantiate this promising
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195–202. Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Hematology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
L E van der Kolk & M H J van Oers * IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp., San Diego, CA, USA A J Grillo-López * Department of Medical Oncology, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital/Netherlands Cancer
Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands J W Baars Authors * L E van der Kolk View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * A J Grillo-López View author
publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * J W Baars View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * M H J van Oers
View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE van der Kolk, L.,
Grillo-López, A., Baars, J. _et al._ Treatment of relapsed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a combination of chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (rituximab) and G-CSF: final
report on safety and efficacy. _Leukemia_ 17, 1658–1664 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402995 Download citation * Received: 25 June 2002 * Accepted: 25 March 2003 * Published: 29
July 2003 * Issue Date: 01 August 2003 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402995 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get
shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative KEYWORDS * rituximab
* G-CSF * low-grade B-cell lymphoma * clinical trial * ADCC