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Post-Transplant Events

Adjuvant rituximab causes prolonged hypogammaglobulinaemia following autologous stem cell transplant for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 38, pages 433–436 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Rituximab is an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that has efficacy in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Adjuvant immunotherapy with rituximab may reduce relapse rates for high-risk B-cell NHL following high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, the potential adverse effects of rituximab on immune reconstitution following SCT are not fully characterized. We performed a retrospective analysis of immunoglobulin (Ig) levels and peripheral blood neutrophil counts in 11 patients who received adjuvant rituximab following autologous SCT for B-cell NHL. Results were compared to a contemporaneous group of 24 patients who received an identical conditioning regimen and autologous SCT for lymphoma, but no adjuvant rituximab. Adjuvant rituximab was associated with a significantly increased incidence of hypogammaglobulinaemia between 12 and 24 months post-SCT, but not neutropenia. Despite suppression of Igs, there were no late or atypical infective complications attributable to rituximab.

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  1. Department of Clinical Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    J Shortt & A Spencer

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  1. J Shortt
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  2. A Spencer
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Correspondence to J Shortt.

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Shortt, J., Spencer, A. Adjuvant rituximab causes prolonged hypogammaglobulinaemia following autologous stem cell transplant for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bone Marrow Transplant 38, 433–436 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705463

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