Radioimmunotherapy Drug to Boost the Activity of Rituximab in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Release Date: 24-Nov-2020

Researchers have identified a novel radioimmunotherapy that is observed to effective in reversing resistance in case of lymphoma cancer. The novel radioimmunotherapy is effective in reversing resistance for the drug called as rituximab. As per the research conducted, the lymphoma drug when combined and used with 177Lu-lilotomab-satetraxetan was found to increase the binding of the drug as well as increase in the activity of rituximab-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). All this led to delay in the tumor growth when tested in mouse model suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

According to the researchers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most common cancer types diagnosed at global level. Nearly 20 years ago, the drug rituximab was approved by the regulatory body for the treatment of the patients suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Apparently, the drug is also found to develop resistance in several cancer patients, which is believed to be due to the changes in the expression of the antigen called as CD20. The radioimmunotherapy drug 177Lu-lilotomab-satetraxetan on the other side is considered to be a next-generation b-particle-emitting radioimmunoconjugate--has been shown to increase CD20 expression in different rituximab-sensitive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cell lines.

The clinical research study with respect to the drug resistance was done in non-hodgkin’s lymphoma cell lines. Xenografted mice used in the clinical research study were administered either saline, rituximab monotherapy, 177Lu-lilotomab monotherapy or a combination therapy of 177Lu-lilotomab-satetraxetan and rituximab. The primary aim of the researchers was to calculate the volume of the tumor and the overall survival time.

It was analyzed by the researchers that the exposure of the cell lines to the radioimmunotherapy drug led to increased rituximab binding when compared with the controlled lines. The control group showed no binding to the drug. Also, the overall median survival time of the mice when treated with the respective combination doubled when compared with the control group, thus depicting that the combination is effective and promising in the treatment of the patients suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and in the patients who have developed resistance to the rituximab drug.