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Bexxar^®: Novel Radioimmunotherapy for the Treatment of Low-Grade and Transformed Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Correspondence: Julie M. Vose, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 987680 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, 68198-7680, USA. Telephone: 402-559-3848; Fax: 402-559-6520; e-mail: jmvose{at}unmc.edu

Purpose. Immunotherapy using monoclonal antibodies to specifically target B cells has provided new hope to many patients with indolent lymphomas, particularly those with chemotherapy-refractory disease. Lymphomas are extremely sensitive to radiation, and significant progress has been made over the last decade in the development of radioimmunotherapy with anti-CD20 antibodies.

Materials and Methods. Herein we review clinical experience with tositumomab and iodine I 131 tositumomab (Bexxar^®; Corixa Corporation; South San Francisco, CA; and GlaxoSmithKline; Philadelphia, PA) in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Results. Therapy with Bexxar has demonstrated high response rates and long durations of response compared with unconjugated anti-CD20 antibodies in patients with relapsed low-grade and transformed low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Iodine-131 (I-131) has a long history of clinical experience, an excellent safety record, and favorable nuclear and pharmacologic properties. Importantly, the gamma emissions of iodine-131 facilitate accurate dosimetry to calculate the appropriate patient-specific therapeutic activity to deliver a predetermined total-body dose of radiation, thereby minimizing hematologic toxicity. In clinical trials of Bexxar, objective response rates ranged from 54%–71% in heavily pretreated patients. In the pivotal trial, the number of patients with a longer duration of response after treatment with Bexxar was significantly greater than the number of patients with a longer duration of response after their last qualifying chemotherapy regimen. In 76 newly diagnosed patients, the objective response rate was 97%, and 63% of patients achieved complete responses.

Conclusion. These data suggest that Bexxar will become an important new option in the treatment of indolent lymphoma.

Key Words. Radioimmunotherapy • Immunotherapy • Tositumomab • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma • Rituximab-refractory

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