Rituxan and Revlimid for lymphoma – pro
The biologic doublet of lenalidomide (Revlimid) plus rituximab (Rituxan) can achieve high response rates and durable remissions in lymphoma, according to several recent preliminary studies. 1,2,3 The immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide enhances rituximab-induced apoptosis in preclinical models, has single-agent activity in relapsed indolent lymphoma, and in combination with rituximab has shown strong activity in relapsed and previously untreated follicular lymphoma. The combination of these agents dubbed the “R-squared” regimen has gained attention lately, and ongoing trials are evaluating whether this treatment can take the place of traditional chemotherapy.The recently published study of this combination concluded that LR is more active than lenalidomide alone in recurrent FL with similar toxicity, warranting further study in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma as a platform for addition of novel agents. 1
1. John P. Leonard, Sin-Ho Jung, Jeffrey Johnson, Brandelyn N. Pitcher, Nancy L. Bartle, tRandomized Trial of Lenalidomide Alone Versus Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab in Patients With Recurrent Follicular Lymphoma: CALGB 50401 (Alliance). August 24, 2015 JCO.2014.59.9258
2.Hernandez-Ilizaliturri FJ, Reddy N, Holkova B, Ottman E, Czuczman MS. Immunomodulatory drug CC-5013 or CC-4047 and rituximab enhance antitumor activity in a severe combined immunodeficient mouse lymphoma model. Clin Cancer Res 2005;11(16):5984-5992.
3.Reddy N, Hernandez-Ilizaliturri FJ, Deeb G, et al. Immunomodulatory drugs stimulate natural killer-cell function, alter cytokine production by dendritic cells, and inhibit angiogenesis enhancing the anti-tumour activity of rituximab in vivo. Br J Haematol 2008;140(1):36-45