Rituximab as immunotherapy following autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in a 17-year-old boy with diffuse large B cell lymphoma – a case report
Abstract
Rituximab is a human-mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody with specifity for the CD20 antigen expressed on B-lineage cells.
We are reporting a 17-year old boy diagnosed with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, CD20(+). He was treated by standard chemotherapy and megachemotherapy with ASCT. The boy relapsed in the mediastinum and lungs one year after the treatment was completed. He underwent secondary treatment: surgical procedure, chemotherapy and immunotherapy with rituximab, second ASCT and again immunotherapy in the post-transplantation period. No severe complications during the treatment with rituximab were observed except for leukopenia and central venous catheter infection.
The CT scans performed one year after the therapy was completed showed regression of changes previously observed.
Keywords: rituximabstem cell transplantationB cell lymphoma