Best Practice & Research Clinical Haematology
Volume 24, Issue 2 , Pages 203-216, June 2011

Rituximab resistance

  • Andrew R. Rezvani (Research Associate)

      Affiliations

    • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, D1-100, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
    • University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, D1-100, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Tel.: +1 206 667 1505; Fax: +1 206 667 6124.
    • ,
  • David G. Maloney (Member)

      Affiliations

    • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, D1-100, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
    • University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
    • Tel.: +1 206 667 5616; Fax: +1 206 667 6124.

Rituximab has become a ubiquitous component of treatment regimens for follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Despite widespread clinical use, the mechanisms by which tumor cells resist rituximab-mediated destruction remain unclear. Rituximab relies in part on immune effector mechanisms for its antitumor effect, and thus resistance may be mediated not only by intrinsic tumor-cell alterations but also by the host immunological environment. In this article, we explore the mechanisms of action of rituximab, the incidence of rituximab resistance, and potential mechanisms of resistance. Finally, we discuss novel approaches to modulate the antibody, the tumor cell, and the host immunologic environment to overcome rituximab resistance. Further research into the mechanisms of rituximab resistance will be essential to improving the efficacy of anti-CD20 therapy in NHL, and may also pay dividends in the optimization of monoclonal antibody therapy across a wide range of diseases.

MeSH: lymphoma, follicular [C04.557.386.480.350], antibodies, monoclonal [D12.776.124.486.485.114.224], drug resistance, neoplasm [G07.690.320.395], pharmacokinetics [G02.111.325.500]

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PII: S1521-6926(11)00027-2

doi:10.1016/j.beha.2011.02.009

Best Practice & Research Clinical Haematology
Volume 24, Issue 2 , Pages 203-216, June 2011

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