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Current status and future perspectives for yttrium-90 (90Y)-ibritumomab tiuxetan in stem cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

Haematopoietic SCT is currently considered a therapeutic option mainly in relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) owing to high post-transplantation relapse rates and significant toxicity of conventional myeloablative conditioning for allogeneic SCT. Radiolabelled immunotherapy combines the benefits of monoclonal antibody targeting with therapeutic doses of radiation, and is a promising advance in the treatment of malignant lymphomas. It is now under investigation as a component of conditioning prior to SCT, with the aim of improving outcomes following SCT without increasing the toxicity of high-dose chemotherapy pre-transplant conditioning. An expert panel met at a European workshop in November 2006 to review the latest data on radiolabelled immunotherapy in the transplant setting, and its potential future directions, with a focus on 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan. They reviewed data on the combination of standard/high/escalating dose 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan with high-dose chemotherapy, and high/escalating dose 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan as the sole myeloablative agent, prior to autologous SCT, and also 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan as a component of reduced intensity conditioning prior to allogeneic SCT. The preliminary data are highly promising in terms of conditioning tolerability and patient outcomes following transplant; further phase II studies are now needed to consolidate these data and to investigate specific patient populations and NHL subtypes.

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Acknowledgements

The 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan transplantation workshop (November 2006, Paris, France) was supported by Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany. The workshop was chaired by Christian Gisselbrecht (France). Participants were Wolfgang Bethge (Germany), Rafael F Duarte (Spain), Bertram Glass (Germany), Corinne Haioun (France), Giovanni Martinelli (Italy), Arnon Nagler (Israel), Ruth Pettengell (UK), Anna Sureda (Spain), Hervé Tilly (France) and Keith Wilson (UK). Alessandro M Gianni (Italy) also contributed to this article.

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Gisselbrecht, C., Bethge, W., Duarte, R. et al. Current status and future perspectives for yttrium-90 (90Y)-ibritumomab tiuxetan in stem cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bone Marrow Transplant 40, 1007–1017 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705868

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