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Posted 20/06/2007 MabThera (rituximab) continues to revolutionise the way non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is treated. Recent findings of MabThera’s benefit in the treatment of indolent (low-grade or follicular) NHL have prompted the Australian regulatory authority - the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – to approve extended MabThera dosing for maintenance treatment.1 Indolent NHL is a disease that tends to go through periods of remission and relapse, with each remission period getting progressively shorter. Medical experts have been searching for a treatment that will lengthen remission time so people with indolent NHL can lead longer, lymphoma-free lives. MabThera maintenance treatment extends lymphoma-free remission and survival 2 A recently reported clinical study involved more than 450 people with indolent NHL from Europe, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The people who responded well to their first study treatment (either chemotherapy alone, or chemotherapy with MabThera) went on to receive either MabThera maintenance treatment or observation (with no treatment). The maintenance treatment was one MabThera infusion given every 3 months for 2 years, or until they relapsed. The study doctors reported that after 6 years of follow up, the people receiving MabThera maintenance treatment had significantly better outcomes - they were living longer and having longer remissions than the people who had no further treatment. The report concluded by stating that MabThera maintenance treatment in these patients results in a major improvement in both delaying disease progression and improving survival. Having a “top up” MabThera maintenance treatment while still feeling well - rather than a whole course of chemotherapy because of relapse - is an exciting and now proven approach to treating indolent lymphoma. The TGA approval of MabThera extended dosing gives Australians living with this condition the opportunity to receive maintenance treatment and hope for a longer, disease-free life.
Having a “top up” MabThera maintenance treatment while still feeling well - rather than a whole course of chemotherapy because of relapse - is an exciting and now proven approach to treating indolent NHL. References: 1. MabThera Product Information. TGA approved 16 May 2007. |
