Drug aids destruction of lymphoma cells
By Nathan Seppa
In the cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, certain white blood cells—B cells—in the
lymph tissues proliferate out of control. These malignant immune cells crowd out their healthy
comrades and impair a person’s ability to fight disease. Standard chemotherapy sends this
lymphoma into remission only in 30 to 40 percent of patients.
Scientists in Europe now report that a drug called rituximab, or Rituxan, boosts the remission
rate significantly. The researchers treated more than 300 patients who had large B-cell