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More Aggressive Chemo May Help Younger Lymphoma Patients: Study
Posted 27 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Nov. 24 – Higher doses of chemotherapy with less time between treatments may benefit younger people suffering from aggressive lymphomas, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (one of the most common and aggressive forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), according to new research. A study published online Nov. 24 in The Lancet found this intensive form of chemotherapy, when combined with the monoclonal antibody drug rituximab, may reduce recurrence of the disease and increase survival rates among patients under 60 years of age. The researchers said these younger patients are about twice as likely to remain in remission after three years versus those given rituximab plus the standard chemotherapy treatment known as CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone). In conducting the study, researchers led by Dr. Herve Tilly of the University of Rouen in France gave ... Read more
Related support groups: Prednisone, Lymphoma, Rituxan, Rituximab, Cytoxan, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Liquid Pred, Sterapred DS, Bleomycin, Doxorubicin, Deltasone, Sterapred
Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms
Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Methotrexate, Provera, Breast Cancer, Lupron, Accutane, Depo-Provera, Prostate Cancer, Tamoxifen, Femara, Arimidex, Lupron Depot, Medroxyprogesterone, Claravis, Gleevec
FDA Approves Rituxan to Treat Two Rare Disorders
Posted 28 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
SILVER SPRING, Md., April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rituxan (rituximab), in combination with glucocorticoids (steroids), to treat patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), two rare disorders that cause blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis). Vasculitis in patients with WG and MPA can lead to tissue damage. WG mostly affects the respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, trachea, and lungs) and kidneys, while MPA commonly affects the kidneys, lungs, nerves, skin, and joints. Both of these diseases affect people of all ages and ethnicities, and both genders. The causes of these disorders are unknown, and both are considered orphan diseases because they each affect less than 200,000 people in the United States. "This new indication for Rituxan provides the first approved therapy for these two orphan ... Read more
Study Adds to Evidence That Rituximab Slows Lymphoma Symptoms
Posted 21 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 21 – New research provides more evidence that treating certain lymphoma patients with an expensive drug over the long term helps them go longer without symptoms. But the drug, called rituximab (Rituxan), does not seem to significantly increase life span, raising questions about whether it's worth taking. People with lymphoma who are considering maintenance treatment "really need a discussion with [their] oncologist," said Dr. Steven T. Rosen, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University in Chicago. The study involved people with follicular lymphoma, one of the milder forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a term that refers to cancers of the immune system. Though it can be fatal, most people live for at least 10 years after diagnosis. There has been debate over whether people with the disease should take Rituxan as maintenance therapy ... Read more
Rare Blood Vessel Disease Could Have New Treatment Option
Posted 14 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 14 – A drug already used to treat lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis shows promise as an option to treat rare forms of vasculitis, a disease affecting the blood vessels, according to two new studies. The drug, rituximab, appeared to be as effective as the current standard, cyclophosphamide, in treating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Rituximab may even be superior to cyclophosphamide in treating disease recurrences, the researchers found. This is the first time in 40 years that a new drug has emerged to treat these conditions, according to the authors of the studies, both appearing in the July 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "This trial has demonstrated for the first time there is an effective alternative to cyclophosphamide for remission induction, and there are a variety of results that make us think that rituximab ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan, Vasculitis, Rituximab
Treatment With Rituxan May Reduce Recurrence of Follicular Lymphoma
Posted 21 May 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 20 – The final phase of a drug study finds that two years of treatment with rituximab (Rituxan) cuts in half the risk that follicular lymphoma patients who respond to chemotherapy will suffer a recurrence of the disease. "These findings provide hope for the way we manage this disease. Rituximab maintenance therapy is likely to become a new standard of care for these patients," study author Dr. Gilles Salles, a professor of medicine at the University of Lyon in France, said in a news release. Typically, he noted, patients often relapse within a few years of their initial treatment. The researchers reached their conclusions after randomly assigning patients with follicular lymphoma to two years of treatment with the drug (505 patients) or no treatment with the drug (513 patients). After a median of 25 months, 34 percent of those who didn't take the treatment had recurrence ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan, Rituximab, Follicular Lymphoma
FDA Approves Rituxan to Treat Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Posted 22 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 18, 2010--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rituxan (rituximab) to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow cancer. Rituxan, an anti-cancer drug, is intended for patients with CLL who are beginning chemotherapy for the first time and for those who have not responded to other cancer drugs for CLL. Rituxan is administered with two other chemotherapy drugs, fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. CLL primarily affects people older than 50 and arises from a group of white blood cells known as B-cells—part of the body’s immune system. Each year, about 16,000 people are diagnosed with and 4,400 die from CLL. “Rituxan is the third drug approved for the treatment of CLL since 2008 and underscores FDA’s commitment to expediting the development and approval of drugs for patients with serious and lif ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Rituxan Approved for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Posted 21 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 19 – Rituxan (rituximab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a slowly progressing form of blood and bone marrow cancer known as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the agency said in a press release. The disease mostly affects people 50 and older. It's diagnosed in some 16,000 people each year, causing about 4,400 deaths, the FDA said. Rituxan binds to the surface of cancer cells, making it easier for the immune system to attack the cancer. The drug was approved for people with CLL who are starting chemotherapy and for those who haven't responded to other anti-cancer drugs. It's administered with two other chemotherapy medications, fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. In a study of 817 people who hadn't been treated previously with chemotherapy, survival without progression of cancer was eight months longer among those given Rituxan and ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Lowers Flu Shot Effectiveness
Posted 11 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 11 – New research offers a caution to rheumatoid arthritis patients who take the drug rituximab (Rituxan): The flu vaccine is safe, but it's ineffective during the first six months following treatment with Rituxan. The researchers also found that previous flu vaccination does help provide some protection against the flu, and the vaccine won't make the arthritis symptoms worse. The study findings are published in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. Rheumatoid arthritis, which is caused when the immune system attacks the body, affects about 4.6 million people around the world. Doctors recommend that these patients get vaccinated against influenza each year – including the H1N1 swine flu this year – because they have weakened immune systems. The new study, by Dr. Sander van Assen and colleagues at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, included ... Read more
Cancer Drug May Offer New Hope for Lupus Patients
Posted 13 Mar 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 13 – The cancer drug Rituxan may offer the first new treatment approved for lupus in 50 years, suggests a small study by U.K. researchers at Imperial College London. The 22-month study included 20 people with lupus nephritis, a severe kidney disorder caused by the disease lupus. After treatment with Rituxan, 60 percent showed significant signs of improvement, the researchers found. But the drug was not effective in people of African ancestry or in those with very low levels of albumin protein in their blood. Rituxan targets hyperactive B cells, which contribute to kidney inflammation in people with lupus. If these study results can be repeated in larger trials, Rituxan might be approved to treat lupus, the researchers said. "This is very welcome news to the 40 percent of lupus patients who are suffering with kidney involvement in their battle with systemic lupus ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan, Lupus Erythematosus, Disseminated Lupus Erythematosus
FDA Medwatch Alert: Rituxan (rituximab)
Posted 11 Sep 2008 by Drugs.com
[Posted 09/11/2008] Genentech informed healthcare professionals of revisions to prescribing information for Rituxan regarding a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) leading to death in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who received Rituxan in a long-term safety extension clinical study. The patient developed a JC virus infection with resultant PML and death 18 months after taking the last dose of Rituxan. Healthcare professionals treating patients with Rituxan should consider PML in any patient presenting with new onset neurologic manifestations. Additionally, consultation with a neurologist, brain MRI and lumbar puncture should be considered as clinically indicated.[September 2008 - Letter – Genentech] Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan
FDA Medwatch Alert: Rituxan (Rituximab)
Posted 18 Dec 2006 by Drugs.com
Indication: Treatment of CD20-postive, B-cell, non-Hodgkins lymphoma and for moderately-to-severely-active rheumatoid arthritis when there has been inadequate response to other treatments. [Posted 12/18/2006] FDA and Genentech informed healthcare professionals of important emerging safety information about Rituxan. Two patients died after being treated with Rituxan for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Rituxan is approved for the above indication and is prescribed off-label for other serious diseases and conditions such as SLE. The cause of death was a viral infection of the brain called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) that is caused by reactivated JC virus which is present in about 80 percent of adults. Physicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for the development of PML in patients under treatment with Rituxan. [December 18, 2006 - Healthcare ... Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan
FDA Medwatch Alert: Rituxan (rituximab)
Posted 8 Oct 2004 by Drugs.com
Biogen Idec and Genentech notified healthcare professionals of revisions to the WARNINGS section of the prescribing information due to reports of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation with fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death in some patients with hematologic malignancies. Persons at high risk of HBV infection should be screened before initiation of Rituxan. Carriers of hepatitis B should be closely monitored for clinical and laboratory signs of active HBV infection and for signs of hepatitis during and for up to several months following Rituxan therapy. [July 12, 2004 - Letter - Genentech/Biogen Idec][June 2004 Label - Genentech/Biogen Idec] Read more
Related support groups: Rituxan
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Further Information
Related Condition Support Groups
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), Follicular Lymphoma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Idiopathic (Immune) Thrombocytopenic Purpura, Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, Bullous Pemphigoid, Microscopic polyangiitis, Wegener's Granulomatosus, Evan's Syndrome, Pemphigoid, Pemphigus