Abstract
BACKGROUND.
Radioimmunotherapy with radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies to CD20 produces a high response rate in patients with recurring non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the durability of those remissions is not well defined.
METHODS.
Data on patients with recurring NHL treated with yttrium Y 90 ibritumomab tiuxetan in 4 clinical trials were reviewed to identify patients with a long‐term response, defined as a time to progression of 12 months or longer.
RESULTS.
Long‐term responses were seen in 37% (78/211) of patients. At a median follow‐up of 53.5 months (range, 12.7–88.9) the median duration of response was 28.1 months and the median time to progression was 29.3 months. A third of these patients had been treated with at least 3 previous therapies, and 37% of them had not responded to their last therapy. The findings in patients with follicular lymphoma (n = 59) were similar to those in the overall population of long‐term responders. The estimated overall survival at 5 years was 53% for all patients treated with ^90^Y ibritumomab tiuxetan and 81% for long‐term responders.
CONCLUSIONS.
A single dose of ^90^Y ibritumomab tiuxetan can produce durable responses and prolonged overall survival in a substantial number of patients in whom previous therapies have failed. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.