Tositumomab and iodine I 131 tositumomab (BEXXAR® therapeutic regimen) produces long-term durable responses in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed, refractory, and transformed low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL

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

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.

Ongoing investigations and new uses of radioimmunotherapy in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Studies in radiation oncology are focusing on the optimal use of systemic targeted radionuclide therapy (STaRT) in the treatment of patients with cancer. The two approved radioimmunotherapy agents, yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan and iodine-131 tositumomab, are being studied in a range of lymphoid malignancies, from low-grade to aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Studies of standard- and escalated-dose radioimmunotherapy with or without stem cell support are reviewed, as are radioimmunotherapy with other therapeutic modalities in these settings. The results of these trials have important implications for clinical practice, and it is hoped that they will further clarify the optimal timing and dosing of these agents.

Gamma camera scans and pretreatment tumor volumes as predictors of response and progression after Y-90 anti-CD20 radioimmunotherapy

PURPOSE

To evaluate two potential approaches to predicting site-specific patterns of recurrence after yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy (RIT) for CD20+ B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These predictive methods may be useful in evaluating the utility of local intensification of individual nodal or extranodal sites using external beam radiotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Records and images were evaluated for 20 patients previously treated with yttrium-90 ibritumomab RIT. Intensity of isotope uptake on the pretreatment two-dimensional antibody scans and maximal extent of tumor deposits found on computed tomography images of each anatomic site were correlated with response and subsequent patterns of recurrence or progression.

RESULTS

Our data failed to suggest a significant correlation between the site-by-site two-dimensional image intensity on the pre-RIT scan and the likelihood of response at those sites. In contrast, an analysis of pretreatment target volumes did correlate significantly with progression. A collective analysis of disease sites from all 20 patients found that 83% (10/12) sites of "bulky" (maximal diameter > or = 5 cm) disease displayed evidence of progression vs. 28% (26/93) of "nonbulky" disease sites containing gross disease but no area measuring >5 cm (p < 0.001). All patients with at least one site of bulky disease had initial disease progression occur at a bulky site, with a bulky site being the sole first site of progression in approximately 50%. In patients with only nonbulky disease sites, approximately one third progressed initially at an entirely new site of disease.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that we can use tumor bulk to establish a statistical hierarchy of likely tumor progression sites and use this pattern to direct the use of additional external beam radiotherapy to augment treatment.