A simple, short radioimmunotherapy treatment shows great promise as first-line therapy for follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers at the University of Michigan followed 76 patients with follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma who received the radioimmunotherapy drug (Bexxar) as their first treatment. Ninety-five percent of the patients had tumor shrinkage after treatment and three quarters of patients went into complete remission. Patients were followed for a median of eight years; at eight year, 86 percent were still alive and half were relapse-free.

“For years we have known radioimmunotherapy such as Bexxar is one of the most effective treatments for patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma. These data show Bexxar is particularly effective when used as a frontline treatment,” said Mark Kaminski, MD, professor of internal medicine.

“These results compare quite favorably with those achieved with state-of-the-art chemotherapy regimens that take months to deliver. But Bexxar is given as a single treatment, completed within one week, which makes it an extremely convenient regimen for patients,” Kaminski added.

Traditional treatment often involves intensive chemotherapy, or a combination of chemotherapy and the monoclonal antibody rituximab. These treatments are usually given every three weeks over a span of up to six months.

In contrast, tositumomab and iodine-131 tositumomab combines an antibody with a radioactive iodine isotope. When injected, binds to a protein found on the surface of the cancerous cells with minimal exposure to normal tissues.

With the tositumomab therapeutic regimen, each patient received an injected test dose of radioactive tositumomab, followed one to two weeks later with a custom-tailored therapeutic dose, completing the regimen.

The most common side effect was temporary decreases in blood counts several weeks after the treatment. There was no hair loss, and nausea was rare.