Safety and efficacy of bevacizumab combined with R-CHOP regimen in seven Chinese patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: importance of angiogenesis and antiangiogenic therapy

Angiogenesis is critical for the initiation and progression of solid tumors, as well as hematological malignancies. While angiogenesis in solid tumors has been well characterized, a large body of investigation is devoted to clarify the impact of angiogenesis on lymphoma development. B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) is the most common lymphoid malignancy with a highly heterogeneity. The malignancy remains incurable despite that the addition of rituximab to conventional chemotherapies provides substantial improvements. Several angiogenesis-related parameters, such as proangiogenic factors, circulating endothelial cells, microvessel density, and tumor microenvironment, have been identified as prognostic indicators in different types of B-NHL. A better understanding of how these factors work together to facilitate lymphoma-specific angiogenesis will help to design better antiangiogenic strategies. So far, VEGF-A monoclonal antibodies, receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting VEGF receptors, and immunomodulatory drugs with antiangiogenic activities are being tested in preclinical and clinical studies. This review summarizes recent advances in the understanding of the role of angiogenesis in B-NHL, and discusses the applications of antiangiogenic therapies.

The promising role of monoclonal antibodies for immunotherapy of the HIV-associated cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Association between HIV/AIDS and some of the cancers such as lymphomais is well known. Relative risk for developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) increases 60-200 folds in HIV-infected individuals. Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and Plasmablastic Lymphoma (PBL) are among the most frequent subtypes. During the last century, scientists found that the immune system could potentially detect and destroy cancer cells. Therefore, they started a new field of study, which is named immunotherapy. There are different immunotherapeutic methods, among which therapeutic antibodies, such as Brentuximabvedotin (Adcetris), Ibritumomabtiuxetan (Zevalin) and rituximab (Rituxan), used for treatment of NHLs showed promising results. In this article, we will review the immunotherapeutic option, monoclonal antibodies, for treatment of HIV-associated NHLs as well as their recent clinical status. We will also discuss the selective monoclonal antibody for each subtype of NHLs.

Proper oral hygiene protocols decreased inflammation of gingivitis in a patient during chemotherapy with bevacizumab: a case report

The case is a woman who had a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. After surgical therapy, platinum-based adjuvant treatment was performed, followed by additional bevacizumab administration. Because considerable gingivitis appeared, a proper approach for oral hygiene was performed. As a result, the symptom was reduced considerably.

The use of combinations of monoclonal antibodies in clinical oncology

Treatment with monoclonal antibodies is becoming increasingly important in clinical oncology. These antibodies specifically inhibit signaling pathways in tumor growth and/or induce immunological responses against tumor cells. By combining monoclonal antibodies several pathways may be targeted simultaneously, potentially leading to additive or synergistic effects. Theoretically, antibodies are very suitable for use in combination therapy, because of limited overlapping toxicity and lack of pharmacokinetic interactions. In this article an overview is given of preclinical and clinical data on twenty-five different combinations of antibodies in oncology. Some of these combinations have proven clinical benefit, for example the combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer, which exemplifies an additive or synergistic effect on antitumor activity in clinical studies and the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, which results in significant increases in progression-free and overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma. However, other combinations may lead to unfavorable results, such as bevacizumab with cetuximab or panitumumab in advanced colorectal cancer. These combinations result in shorter progression-free survival and increased toxicity compared to therapy with a single antibody. In summary, the different published studies showed widely varying results, depending on the combination of antibodies, indication and patient population. More preclinical and clinical studies are necessary to unravel the mechanisms behind synergistic or antagonistic effects of combining monoclonal antibodies. Most research on combination therapies is still in an early stage, but it is expected that for several tumor types the use of combination therapy of antibodies will become standard of care in the near future.

Efficacy and safety of rituximab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study is to systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP combined regimen) in patients with previously untreated diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Electronic database were searched for randomized-controlled studies only comparing R-CHOP to CHOP standard alone in patients with untreated DLBCL were included. The risk ratios (RRs) with their 95% corresponding intervals (95% CI) were employed to estimate the efficacy of overall response (OR), complete response (CR), risk of dying and relapse rate in followed-up period. Total ten case-control studies containing 2941 patients met the inclusion criteria. The addition of R to standard CHOP were showed to increase the proportion of CR (RR=1.23, 95% CI=1.13-1.35, P<0.00001) and OR (RR=1.39, 95% CI=1.24-1.55, P<0.00001) in a fixed-effect model, indicating that rituximab combined with CHOP regimen is efficacy than CHOP alone. It did not increase the overall risk of dying as a consequence of infection (RR=0.79, 95% CI=0.55-1.13, P=0.20). Furthermore, the relapse rates is significantly lower in R-CHOP (RR=0.52, 95% CI=0.38-0.71, P<0.0001). The adverse effects were also not significant (P>0.05). In summary, R-CHOP regimen is superior to standard CHOP in terms of overall response and complete response. It does not increase the incidence of adverse effects. However, more studies concerning different age groups and special patients are needed to discuss the potential role of R in DLBCL.