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Rituximab for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Introduction: Rituximab is a high-affinity chimeric mouse anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, currently used for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and autoimmune disorders. Areas covered: This article summarizes recent achievements in the clinical activity and toxicity of rituximab in the treatment of patients with CLL. A literature search was conducted of the PubMed MEDLINE database for articles in English. Publications from 2000 through January 2012 were scrutinized. The search terms used were rituximab in conjunction with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL. Conference proceedings from the previous 5 years of The American Society of Hematology, The European Hematology Association, and American Society of Clinical Oncology were searched manually. Additional relevant publications were obtained by reviewing the references from the chosen articles. Expert opinion: Rituximab is an active drug in CLL when used as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy, particulary with fludarabine or fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (R-FC regimen). In addition, rituximab may be an optimal therapeutic choice of treatment for CLL-associated autoimmune cytopenias.