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Blood, 15 October 2004, Vol. 104, No. 8, pp. 2603-2606. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on July 13, 2004; DOI 10.1182/blood-2004-05-1855. This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 2004-05-1855v1 104/8/2603    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Canninga-van Dijk, M. R. Articles by Verdonck, L. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Canninga-van Dijk, M. R. Articles by Verdonck, L. F. Related Collections Immunobiology Transplantation Immunotherapy Brief Reports Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  TRANSPLANTATION Brief report Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody treatment in 6 patients with therapy-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease Marijke R. Canninga-van Dijk, Hanneke M. van der Straaten, Rob Fijnheer, Cornelus J. Sanders, Jan G. van den Tweel, and Leo F. Verdonck From the Departments of Pathology, Hematology, and Dermatology, University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU), The Netherlands. Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is an important determinant of long-term morbidity and mortality in allogeneic stem cell transplantation patients. Because cGVHD has clinical, histologic, and laboratory findings of autoimmune diseases and anti–B-cell therapy has shown efficacy in autoimmune diseases, we hypothesized that monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody therapy might improve patients with cGVHD. We treated 5 men and 1 woman with therapy-refractory extensive cGVHD with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Intravenous infusion was given at a weekly dose of 375 mg/m2 for 4 weeks. In case of incomplete clinical response, additional courses of 4 weeks were given. Five patients responded to treatment with marked clinical, biochemical, and histologic improvement. One patient failed to respond. Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody seems to be effective in cGVHD. A controlled trial is mandatory to confirm these results. The outcome of this study suggests a participating role of B cells in the pathogenesis of cGVHD. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this? This article has been cited by other articles: B. Terrier, Y. Delmas, A. Hummel, C. Presne, F. Glowacki, B. Knebelmann, C. Combe, P. Lesavre, N. Maillard, L.-H. Noel, et al. Post-allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation membranous nephropathy: clinical presentation, outcome and pathogenic aspects Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., May 1, 2007; 22(5): 1369 - 1376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] V. Rowe, T. Banovic, K. P. MacDonald, R. Kuns, A. L. Don, E. S. Morris, A. C. Burman, H. M. Bofinger, A. D. Clouston, and G. R. Hill Host B cells produce IL-10 following TBI and attenuate acute GVHD after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation Blood, October 1, 2006; 108(7): 2485 - 2492. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] C. Cutler, D. Miklos, H. T. Kim, N. Treister, S.-B. Woo, D. Bienfang, L. B. Klickstein, J. Levin, K. Miller, C. Reynolds, et al. Rituximab for steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease Blood, July 15, 2006; 108(2): 756 - 762. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] C. Zhang, I. Todorov, Z. Zhang, Y. Liu, F. Kandeel, S. Forman, S. Strober, and D. Zeng Donor CD4+ T and B cells in transplants induce chronic graft-versus-host disease with autoimmune manifestations Blood, April 1, 2006; 107(7): 2993 - 3001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] S. J. Lee New approaches for preventing and treating chronic graft-versus-host disease Blood, June 1, 2005; 105(11): 4200 - 4206. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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